


Feel Safe With You

by SuperAwesomePandaKitty



Category: Corpse Party (Video Game)
Genre: Background Mochida Satoshi/Nakashima Naomi, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I don't even know yet, I don't know I might just because there's such a lack of fics for them, Romance, although I may include more of them later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-02-03 00:21:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1724267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperAwesomePandaKitty/pseuds/SuperAwesomePandaKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a week since the group had made it out of Heavenly Host Elementary School. Ayumi finds it difficult to sleep and spends the night at Yoshiki's. Shameless fluff, don't know how long it's going to be, Satoshi and Naomi are kind of background, like I mention them and they are sort of there but it's mainly Yoshiki x Ayumi and I might write some Satoshi and Naomi, we'll see :3 Enjoy ^_^</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is a thing that just wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it, I will probably do another chapter because I am a sucker for this ship <3 . I obviously do not own Corpse Party or any of it's characters I am merely borrowing them for my story. I hope you enjoy :3

It had been a week since the group had made it out of Heavenly Host Elementary School. Satoshi was at Naomi's side everyday to calm her down when she got frustrated over Seiko's death and the fact that no one seemed to remember any of those they had lost at the school. Ayumi was trying to hold herself together when she was at school, the teacher was a horrible man who didn't care about his students and it was soon taking its toll on her. Yoshiki tried his best to comfort her when it all became too much but things had taken a toll on him too. Bags appeared under his eyes before long; he had a short temper with the other students in the class and started to withdraw into himself, only speaking to Ayumi, Satoshi and Naomi.

When class had ended, Satoshi and Naomi waited at the school's entrance for Ayumi and Yoshiki to catch up. Ayumi walked up to them with a sigh.

"Tch. I hate Sensei so much. He was very rude to me today and told me to stay over tomorrow afternoon to watch over detention so he can go home!" Ayumi complained.

"What?! He can't do that can he?" Satoshi asked, shocked that the teacher thought he could get away with treating his students this way.

"I think so, but what can I do? I'm Class Rep and I'm supposed to help Sensei out."Ayumi answered, sighing again.

"There is only so much you can do before you have to put your foot down and stand up to him." Naomi said, looking at Ayumi with concern.

"It's okay, I'll be fine I just..." Ayumi hesitated; she didn't want to seem weak in front of Satoshi and Naomi. "I'll just get it over with tomorrow and then go home and relax and try and forget the entire thing ever happened." She added.

"I think that might be for the best; if you dwell on it too much, you might get stressed out and Lord knows we all don't need any more of that right now." Satoshi said, a raindrop fell on his nose and he looked up to the sky, noticing the dark look in the clouds, he looked over to Naomi and knew he would have to get her home before the thunder started. "Where is Yoshiki? He was supposed to be here by now?" He asked Ayumi.

"I don't know, he was behind me one minute and then told me he would be right back. I'm gonna go look for him, do you guys want to come with me?" Ayumi asked, she was beginning to worry about Yoshiki; he didn't look so good that day either.

"Sorry Ayumi, I need to walk Naomi home, it's starting to rain, if you need any help call me okay?" Satoshi said worriedly, putting his back pack on and helping Naomi put her's on.

"I'm sorry Ayumi; I just don't like the rain." Naomi said sadly.

Ayumi smiled at Naomi, "its okay, Naomi, I understand, get home safe you two." Ayumi said, waving slightly before turning back and heading into the school. She walked to their classroom to see if Yoshiki was there but there was no one in the classroom. Feeling a little scared as the clouds were making the hallways look dark, she walked on, calling out his name whenever she could.

Ayumi went to the boys locker room and knocked the door, there was no answer so she carefully opened the door and peeked in. Ayumi sighed and almost closed the door in defeat before she spotted a shoe sticking out behind one of the lockers. Ayumi tried to settle her anxiety and took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the shoe, as she got closer, she could see a person lying on the ground and quickened her pace. The person was lying face down, and she bravely reached over to touch his shoulder and carefully pulled it back and saw Yoshiki's unconscious form. Ayumi panicked; dropping to her knees and shaking him desperately.

"Kishinuma-Kun! Kishinuma-Kun! Please wake up! Please! Don't do this to me!" She cried as he wouldn't wake up, fear curled its way up her body and she began to cry as flashbacks of the school began playing through her mind.

"Hngh..wha? Shinozaki?" Yoshiki said quietly as he came to. He then started to notice the upset state she was in and his adrenaline kicked in, he stood up to his full height looking around for the immediate danger and seeing none he turned back to her. "What's wrong Shinozaki, you're okay, nothing's going to hurt you!" He shouted, crouching beside her.

Ayumi stopped herself from hyperventilating when she saw him and tried to stop the tears falling, with little success. "*sniff*...Kishinuma-kun? *sniff*..." she mumbled and then threw her arms around him and blew her nose in his shirt.

Yoshiki flinched when she threw her arms around him but didn't do anything when she blew her nose on him. "Tch.. Shinozaki, why blow your nose on me?" He said, trying to lighten the mood with no real anger in his voice. He hugged her back and tried to calm her down. "Now, tell me what happened." He added calmly.

"*sniff*...You didn't come back so I went to look for you. Satoshi had to walk Naomi home because there's a storm tonight, *sniff* I looked everywhere and couldn't find you and then I came here and you were lying face down and when I pulled you back you were unconscious and I panicked and..*sniff*...and tried to wake you but you wouldn't wake up and..." she started to cry a little and Yoshiki hugged her tighter.

"Hey, Shinozaki I'm okay. I just passed out that's all, it's okay, I'm okay, there's no need to be upset okay?" Yoshiki said trying to calm her. He felt bad about upsetting her; he hadn't really been sleeping much since they escaped from Heavenly Host. Whenever he went to sleep, he dreamt of the events that occurred at the school and would wake up in a cold sweat screaming so he thought it would be better to just not sleep or at least prolong it for as long as he can.

Ayumi calmed down and Yoshiki let her go, standing up and then offering his hand to her to help her up. She accepted the help and didn't let go of his hand. Yoshiki noted that ever since Heavenly Host, she stayed close to him because he made her feel safer, he was flattered and happy that he did because she did the same for him.

"Come on Shinozaki, I'll walk you home okay?" Yoshiki said, squeezing her hand to reassure her as anytime she had a flashback, she would need the comfort.

Ayumi nodded and allowed herself to be led, Yoshiki lifted his bag and then Ayumi's shoulder bag and carried them himself, knowing that she would've carried her own schoolbag if she wasn't like this.

They walked through the seemingly empty school, hearing the sound of Hoovers in the distance as the cleaners were always in when school ended. Ayumi squeezed Yoshiki's hand until they left the school grounds, and visibly relaxed when they were far enough away. She looked up at Yoshiki and examined his face, she saw the fatigue visibly on his face, and the cut on his head from the hammer looked like it was getting a little better but some bruising was still prominent.

When they had managed to escape and come back to their school, Ayumi went to the First Aid Kit in the classroom and got the bottle of disinfectant, she cleaned her own wounds and then wiped it through his cut; something Yoshiki both hated and was grateful for, Ayumi then insisted that everyone use it on any injuries they sustained at Heavenly Host in case of infection. Satoshi hugged Naomi and Yuka tightly to him, checked if everyone else was okay and said goodbye before helping Naomi walk home on one side, while Yuka clung to his other. Ayumi watched Satoshi walk away with Naomi and tried to understand why her affections for him had dwindled, they seemed so strong before and she knew that throwing Satoshi back in Yoshiki's face all the time, while they were in the school, was hurting him but she couldn't bring herself to stop, but then again, the school did mess with her and everyone else.

"Kishinuma-Kun, I want you to know I'm sorry." Ayumi said sadly. Yoshiki stopped and looked at her, she always felt guilty when she thought back to their time at the school, they had had this discussion before and he had forgiven her then and that wasn't likely to change. He smiled at her gently.

"Shinozaki, you have nothing to be sorry for, the school messed us all up in a lot of ways and none of that was your fault." Yoshiki said kindly. Ayumi's eyes had begun to water and Yoshiki hugged her. "Oi, no crying, you have no reason to be upset, you have no reason to be sorry, now we're almost at your house and the rain is really starting to pour and I would like to get home before school starts tomorrow." Yoshiki joked, trying to cheer her up.

Ayumi giggled and nodded, they walked to Ayumi's house and Yoshiki stopped just outside her door. "Here you are, I'm going home, call me if you need me okay?" Yoshiki said, smiling at Ayumi. He gave her schoolbag to her and she nodded with a shy smile on her face.

He turned and made the long walk back to his apartment, he was halfway home when he heard the thunder go off and he quickened his pace. He wasn't afraid of the storm but even so he didn't want to be caught in it for too long, he could feel the exhaustion taking over just as he got to his apartment complex and rushed up to his room and unlocked the door. He walked over to the hotpress and grabbed a towel and rubbed it around his hair and clothes before he dripped everywhere. Yoshiki went into his small kitchen area and put on the kettle before he headed into the bathroom to take off his damp clothes and grabbed a quick shower.

Yoshiki made his tea and was about to sit down when his phone went off, he jumped and quickly ran over and answered it.

"Hello" He answered.

"Kishinuma-Kun?" Ayumi said quietly.

"Shinozaki? What's wrong?" Yoshiki asked worriedly.

"I'm scared, there's no one at home and the thunder is getting worse. Can I come over?" Ayumi asked anxiously.

"Sure, do you want me to walk and meet you halfway? I don't like the idea of you walking on your own." He said, it had gotten darker outside due to the storm, that and Ayumi was afraid of it.

"I'm going to call a taxi because I don't want to walk." Ayumi said.

"Okay, see you soon." Yoshiki said and waited until Ayumi hung up.

Once the phone call had finished, he quickly got up and tidied the apartment a little, there wasn't much of a mess but he put his clothes in the washbasket and the towels he used. He filled the kettle and turned it on, he then grabbed some pyjama bottoms and put them on, he brought two blankets and set them on the sofa and then he sat down and finished his tea while he waited.

This wasn't the first time Ayumi had been over, the first night she came over was on the second night they had been back; the first night she had wanted to see her family, but found that she couldn't sleep. She called Yoshiki to ask if she could come over and he agreed to walk over to her place and they walked together to his. When they were inside, Yoshiki offered her his bed and he told her he would sleep on the sofa (or sit on the sofa and watch TV since he didn't sleep). She accepted the offered bed but found that she couldn't sleep there either, she wrapped the blanket around herself like a burrito and wordlessly curled up beside him on the sofa and fell asleep before long. Yoshiki then gave himself the excuse to stay awake in case she had a nightmare.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by a knock at the door and quickly stood up to answer it. When he opened the door, Ayumi stood there, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, her eyes were wild with stress and fear as a crash of thunder went on outside, she ran and hugged him and he closed the door behind her, hugging her back before he gently let her go and walked towards the hotpress to give her a towel as her hair had gotten a little damp.

"Thank You Kishinuma-Kun, I'm sorry for bothering you, I just couldn't sleep and I got scared and I was worried about you as well, you should be sleeping instead of passing out at school and scaring me to death." Ayumi said quickly as her anxiety set in about the thunder and the events of that day.

"Calm down Shinozaki, I'm sorry I made you worry, I just...haven't been sleeping well either okay, I'll be fine, and you don't have to worry about me." Yoshiki said quietly, trying to calm her down. He walked into the kitchen area and made her some chamomile tea, knowing that it was her favourite and always calmed her down from one of their many conversations together.

"I do worry about you Kishinuma-Kun, you worry about me and make sure I'm okay and I want to do the same for you." Ayumi said determinedly. Yoshiki knew there was no arguing with her once she became like that.

"Okay, do you want to change into your pyjamas in the bathroom and I can get a movie set up?" Yoshiki asked. Ayumi nodded and lifted her bag, she walked into the bathroom and got changed. Ayumi pulled out her pigtails and rubbed the towel through her hair before joining Yoshiki on the sofa, she grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around herself. She snuggled up to Yoshiki and grabbed her cup of chamomile tea and began to drink as she settled herself. She felt so much better and safer since she had gotten here and was beginning to get drowsy.

"Hope you don't mind I decided to put on X-Men: First Class, I thought it would be a good idea to watch." Yoshiki said, taking a sip of his own tea.

"It's fine, I'm kind of sleepy anyway, you should be sleeping too you know, I do not want you passing out tomorrow." Ayumi said sternly.

"I can't sleep Shinozaki, I'll be okay." Yoshiki answered, the fatigue that was catching up with him was trying to get him to sleep but he fought it.

"Can't sleep or won't sleep?" Ayumi replied knowingly. Yoshiki was caught off guard that she noticed, he had been so careful to hide it but it must show how exhausted he is if his facade was failing.

"I just...I just don't want to see what happened anymore; I'd rather ignore the problem and hope it goes away." Yoshiki answered sheepishly.

"We both know it doesn't work that way. Now lie down!" Ayumi said sternly, standing up to let him move. Yoshiki sighed but lay down, making sure his blanket covered him, Ayumi had a faint blush to her cheeks, but determinedly climbed over him to lay down beside him with her back to the sofa and snuggled into his side. Yoshiki blushed and couldn't believe this was happening; he bravely put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

They didn't talk after that, Ayumi snuggled closer, she snaked her arms around him, rubbing her nose in his neck and fell asleep, Yoshiki turned to watch the film, but between their body heat and the two blankets, the sleep was getting harder to fight off and before long, he fell asleep, pulling her closer to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here's the next chapter, there will be more don't worry I just started to add in all the things I wanted and came out with this :L. Hope you enjoy, I have my own ideas as to what I want but I'm open to suggestions if you would like some things added in :3.

Ayumi was running, she could hear footsteps chasing her and she tried to push herself even further. She looked around quickly to see where Yoshiki was but he was nowhere in sight and the fear she had been trying to keep back began to seep into her core. She ran into class 1-A in the hopes that Yoshiki would find her there, as that was the room where everyone had agreed to meet. She hid under one of the classroom tables just in case her pursuers tried to follow her into the room. She could hear footsteps slowly enter the room, she covered her mouth and curled in on herself. The hopelessness she had been feeling started to consume her and she began to cry, knowing that whatever had been following her would catch her before long. She had managed to trap herself in a small classroom with only one exit and she wished Yoshiki was there with her to keep her safe and sane.

"ONee-San...ONee-San" Sachiko sang. "Come out Onee-San" Sachiko giggled. "You'll be safe with me." She sang and giggled some more, the sound of snapping scissors could be heard as Sachiko moved around the room.

Ayumi gasped, trying to stay as quiet as possible. The footsteps began to get closer and the tension was growing. Ayumi screamed and ran before they could get too close but she was grabbed by a strong pair of arms.

"No! Let go of me! Kishinuma-Kun help me! Someone help me!" She screamed and struggled with all her might.

Yoshiki felt something squirming against him on his side and slowly began to awaken. He turned to see what was wrong only to hear Ayumi calling out for him, he pulled her close to him to stop her from squirming too much but that seemed to make her freak out and she flailed at him to get away.

"Shinozaki. Shinozaki! SHINOZAKI!" Ayumi awoke to Yoshiki holding her close to him; he was looking at her with frantic eyes. "Shinozaki are you okay?" Yoshiki asked worriedly, his lip was bleeding as Ayumi had punched him in her struggle.

Ayumi began to cry, and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed.

"It's okay, you just had a bad dream; you're safe now." Yoshiki said, trying to comfort her and rubbing small circles on her back. Ayumi pulled back to look at him and noticed the blood running down his chin, she gasped and pulled away.

"Kishinuma-Kun...your lip is...Bleeding." Ayumi said worriedly, she stood up and ran to the bathroom and came back with a facecloth and a small jug of water. She dipped a section of the cloth in the water and pressed it to his lip. "I'm sorry." She added quietly.

"It's okay, you don't have to do this, I'll be fine." Yoshiki said awkwardly, a blush beginning to form on his cheeks.

"It's not okay, I hit you" Ayumi mumbled sadly, finishing up with the cloth and setting it aside.

Yoshiki saw Ayumi's hands shaking and took them in his own. "Oi, you had a bad dream, you didn't mean to hit me; it was an accident. It was not your fault. It's 6am now so if you want to sleep for a little while longer you can, I'm going to get up but I'll still be in the room so don't worry." Yoshiki said, after looking at his phone, it was the best sleep he had had in a while but he didn't think he'd be able to go back to sleep now. His lip hurt more than he would like to admit and he didn't want to upset Ayumi anymore than she was already.

"Kishinuma-Kun, I think I'd like to get up now also, if it's okay with you, can I use your shower?" Ayumi asked, her voice quiet as her guilt gathered in her gut.

"Of course, I'll make us something to eat when you come out." Yoshiki said, smiling at her.

"Okay." She said quietly, she lifted her bag and carried it with her to the bathroom.

When she left, Yoshiki went to his freezer and pulled out a few ice-cubes and wrapped a tea towel around them before applying them to his lip. She had hit him hard, he understood that she was experiencing genuine fear so he didn't blame her too much for it but his lip was beginning to swell and he didn't want her to get upset. That and he didn't want anyone at school to notice, there would be too many questions and he already didn't get along with the rest of his class.

Some of their classmates had begun to tease them; calling them crazy because they were talking about people they thought "Weren't Real". Yoshiki took the teasing the worst, Satoshi made sure Naomi couldn't talk about Seiko too much in front of the others and Ayumi was taking it hard because Matsuda-Sensei was being harder on her than anyone else which frustrated him.

On their third day back, when Yoshiki had fallen asleep in class; a natural occurrence due to him trying to stay awake constantly, Matsuda-Sensei began to take notice before Ayumi could wake him.

"Kishinuma!" He shouted, causing Yoshiki to jump up and look around frantically. The others began to laugh and he could see Ayumi looking at him worriedly from the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry Sensei, it was an accident." Yoshiki said quickly, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

"Kishinuma, is living alone that good that you cannot be bothered to go to bed at a regular time? Tell me again why your parents disowned you? Did you constantly fall asleep on them too?" A quiet tension seemed to emanate from the room; Yoshiki just stared at the man in shock. He stood quietly, facing their Sensei angrily.

"Yui-Sensei would never say something like that." He said quietly. "I am sorry I fell asleep, I don't feel well, I'm going to see the nurse and then I'm going home." Yoshiki said, he was shaking with anger and with that he ran from the room and went home. Satoshi had tried to call him but he put his phone on silent and went to his room.

He picked up a photograph of him and a young black haired girl, who was not much older than Yuka. Yoshiki's younger sister Miki was the only one who spoke to him from his family; his father wanted him to take over the family business but Yoshiki wanted to have his own career, something that he enjoyed like playing music or going into the arts. He had an argument with his father, as the stress from his family's expectations took its toll on him, and he refused to join the company. His father disowned him that night and his mother gave him some money to keep himself going until he got a job; that was the last time he saw his parents. Miki still made regular visits against her father's wishes to visit him though, he smiled at the picture and could feel himself getting upset over the situation and set the picture down.

'There's no point getting upset over things you can't change.' Yoshiki thought to himself angrily. He walked into his kitchen and made himself some tea before lying down on his sofa to watch his television. He would have to leave for work soon, so he let himself relax for an hour before getting up and putting on his uniform. He worked in a small music store, it wasn't much but it was enough to help him afford his apartment and food. He was about to leave when he heard a knock at the door, Yoshiki walked cautiously towards the door before answering it. Once he opened the door wide enough, he could see the concern on Ayumi's eyes before she hugged him tightly.

"Kishinuma-Kun, I'm so sorry that Sensei was so horrible to you, I know you have to go to work but you weren't answering your phone. We were all worried about you." Ayumi spoke quickly; her breathing was laboured, like she had run to his place.

"It's not your fault, I'm sorry for not answering the phone, I just wanted to be by myself for a while."Yoshiki said quietly, he pulled out his phone and saw he had a few missed calls and text from Satoshi, Naomi and the most were from Ayumi. He sent a reassuring text to Satoshi and Naomi to let them know he was okay.

"Sensei's so horrible and I just can't believe he spoke to you like that in front of everyone!" Ayumi said angrily, Yoshiki had noticed she had become protective over him since their time at Heavenly Host and so he knew he couldn't lie to her even if he tried.

"Yeah he is, but I'll be okay. I really do have to go now though, you want to walk with me?" Yoshiki asked her as he locked the door to his apartment.

"Okay, would it be okay if I came over tonight again?" Ayumi asked; she had wanted to cheer him up.

Yoshiki nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and when they parted ways he felt better. He was amazed that no matter how bad he felt, she could always do that for him, heck even when she didn't know him that well, she cried on his behalf just to get him to stay in school.

Ayumi came over that night to cheer him up and it worked, but the next day he returned to class and the other students were making snide comments to him and smirking his direction, calling him crazy and a lowlife because his parents had disowned him (something that only the school faculty, Ayumi and Satoshi knew), and soon he didn't talk to anyone at school other than Ayumi, Satoshi and Naomi.

He was pulled out of his gloomy thoughts by the sound of the bathroom opening and he quickly hid the towel in a drawer, something he would probably regret later but couldn't bring himself to care. He stood up quickly as Ayumi entered, dressed in her school clothes with a towel on her head.

"What would you like to eat? I have cereal, toast, I could cook something but it's up to you." Yoshiki asked, busying himself in the cupboard so she couldn't see his face.

"Cereal's fine, thank you. Do you have a hairdryer?" Ayumi asked quietly.

"Yeah it's in the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom" Yoshiki answered quickly, pulling out his boxes of cereal and 2 bowls, he set them on the table with 2 spoons and a bottle of milk and set them out for them both. He then made a dash for his bedroom and looked in the mirror, the fatigue lines on his face, although not as prominent as they were the day before, were still noticeable and his lip had a visible cut and looked like it was swollen.

'Crap! Shinozaki's going to notice and she's going to feel guilty.' Yoshiki thought to himself, he got dressed and then looked around for his scarf and put it on, being careful to cover his mouth. He knew he'd have to eat in front of her but as long as he ate facing away from her, nothing could go wrong right? Tch he knew it would go wrong eventually but he knew he had to try and keep this day as stress free for Ayumi as possible, Matsuda-Sensei was a jerk to her for no reason and was the cause of much stress for her.

He slowly walked back to the kitchen area and saw Ayumi sitting on the sofa, eating her cereal. Her hair was down and Yoshiki thought she looked beautiful; before suppressing the thought and getting himself a bowl. He knew Ayumi needed him but he didn't think she saw him as anything but a friend so he thought suppressing his feelings for her was the best option. He didn't think he could take it if she rejected him, so he tried to ignore the problem and hope it went away; but as Ayumi said, it doesn't work that way.

While her back was turned, he quickly grabbed the towel with ice from the drawer and hid them in the bathroom, knowing she wouldn't be going back there to see it. He then sat down beside her with his bowl of cereal; making sure to sit on her right side so she couldn't see his lip as he ate, when they had finished eating, Ayumi broke the silence.

"Are you okay? You're acting kind of strange." Ayumi asked with concern.

"Oh I'm fine, just tired, are you okay?" He answered awkwardly.

"I'm okay I guess, I'm just worried, Matsuda-Sensei is making me stay over and supervise detention so he can go home. I never thought I would say this about a teacher but I hate him, I want Yui-Sensei back." Ayumi said sadly, she shook her head then, trying to keep herself from dwelling on things she sadly couldn't change.

Yoshiki looked at her sadly, he hated that he couldn't do anything to help her, they were all grieving in their own way and Ayumi was taking Yui-Sensei's death the hardest. "Hey, remember what she told you." Yoshiki told her quietly, setting his empty bowl aside. He stood up and grabbed his schoolbag and then Ayumi's and offered it to her, "it's going to be okay, it may not seem like it now but it will be." He said. She nodded, taking her bag off him and hugging him tightly.

"Thank you Kishinuma-Kun." Ayumi said, she bravely stood up and kissed him on the cheek. "For everything" She added shyly, her cheeks began to blush lightly and as she backed away she could see Yoshiki's cheeks had turned bright red. "Why are you wearing your scarf so high?" She asked curiously.

Yoshiki's brain had short-circuited when she kissed his cheek, he stood still in shock until she asked him about the scarf and he panicked to himself. "It's always so cold in the morning." He answered her, although it sounded more like a question, he tried to change the subject quickly. "You don't need to thank me Shinozaki, I was just doing what I felt was right." He said, blushing profusely and turning to walk out the door.

"I still wanted to thank you anyway." Ayumi said cheerfully.

They walked together in a comfortable silence to Satoshi's and waited for him to come out; when he finally left his house, Yuka was peeking her head behind him shyly.

"Hey Yuka, how are you?" Ayumi asked cheerfully, it was better to put on a strong front for Yuka so she wouldn't feel sad, the things that happened to her at the school were traumatising for her, so she never left Satoshi's side if he was around.

"I..I'm okay. Onii-San's going to...walk me to school." Yuka mumbled quietly. Satoshi met Yoshiki's eyes worriedly. When he noticed the scarf, Yoshiki shook his head before he could ask. Yoshiki bent down so he was at Yuka's height.

"Well lucky for you Yuka, we're all walking that way, so would you like all of us to walk you to school?" Yoshiki asked her, his voice gentle.

"Um..Y-yes..Please?" Yuka said shyly, a ghost of a smile beginning to tug on her lip.

"We just have to go to Naomi's house first and then we can go, okay Yuka?" Satoshi said, squeezing his sister's hand to reassure her.

"Okay" She answered; Naomi had spent a lot of time at Satoshi's since they had been back, so Yuka was used to her presence.

When they met up with Naomi, they continued on and walked Yuka to her school gates. Satoshi had to coax her with sweets to get her to leave him and go to school, she nodded and hugged everyone goodbye before she walked over to her friend and walked into school.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with her." Satoshi said fondly, he held Naomi's hand as they walked together to their own school.

"Don't lie Satoshi, you secretly enjoy it, it's cute." Naomi giggled, poking him in the side.

"Tch..I do not," Satoshi laughed, a small blush appearing on his face as he was happy to see Naomi acting so carefree.

"Kishinuma-Kun, tell me you agree? He totally loves his cute little sister acting so clingy." Naomi said cheerfully, turning to the others.

"Satoshi you totally do." Yoshiki laughed at him, while Ayumi giggled at how red Satoshi's face was growing.

"Tch... So what if I do? I have an adorable sister and you and I shall have words later mister! What happened to bros?" Satoshi said pretending to be angry, causing Yoshiki to laugh.

"Oi Shinozaki. Could you come here for a moment, I need to speak with you." Matsudo-Sensei shouted when they approached the gates.

Ayumi sighed. "Wish me luck guys!" She grumbled and ran off to talk to the teacher.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom, be right back." Naomi announced, she kissed Satoshi on the cheek and ran off.

"Okay, I've waited long enough, what's with the scarf?" Satoshi said; he was a little flustered from the kiss and he was desperately trying to change the subject before Yoshiki could tease him.

Yoshiki shifted awkwardly, looking around to make sure Ayumi couldn't see him before pulling the scarf down. Satoshi gasped.

"Woah! Who did that to you?!" Satoshi shouted angrily, thinking it was one of their classmates.

"Keep your voice down! It was an accident, I just don't want Shinozaki to see it, it might upset her. I don't know what to do." Yoshiki said worriedly.

"You could go and see the nurse and see if she can do something to cover it?" Satoshi suggested.

"I might do that, do not tell Nakashima, or Shinozaki. At least not until tomorrow, this day is stressful enough as it is and at least there's no school tomorrow. And Dude, I can totally see you're blushing, don't try to change the subject." Yoshiki laughed as Satoshi's face began to get brighter.

"Shut up! You're one to talk, blushing anytime Shinozaki says something nice to you." Satoshi teased.

"Tch...I do not." Yoshiki said defensively, Satoshi chuckled.

"Sure you don't. Anyway I think you should go see the nurse now before class starts because Matsuda-Sensei won't let you keep that scarf on, anyone else maybe but not you, he seems to somehow have something against you." Satoshi said bitterly, looking daggers at the Teacher's back.

"Thanks Satoshi, I'm gonna go now before he decides he wants to talk to me too, see ya." Yoshiki said, making his way to the nurse's office.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Sorry for making you all wait but my coursework deadline is on Friday so won't be updating till next weekend. I also wanted to address the OOC-ness of my story. I'm sorry if some of you don't like it but it was just something I really wanted to happen. I wanted their relationship to change because the school affected your behaviour etc. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and any suggestions on what you would like to happen or anything would be greatly appreciated :3

Yoshiki walked quickly to the nurse's office and knocked the door before entering.

"Excuse me; I was just wondering if you would have anything that could cover my lip for the day?" Yoshiki asked politely, the nurse gestured for Yoshiki to sit down on the chair opposite her and came closer to inspect his lip.

"What happened to you? It's not swollen too much but it's still noticeable." The nurse asked worriedly.

"It was an accident, I just don't want anyone else to notice it and it hurts a little." Yoshiki said quietly. The nurse picked up a bottle of antiseptic and poured a little on to a cotton ball before gently swabbing it over the cut, causing Yoshiki to hiss slightly at the contact, she then applied some cool pain relieving cream and put on a small plaster.

"That should do it, the swelling should go down in a few days and you'll be as good as new." The nurse said, smiling kindly.

"Thank you." Yoshiki said politely. He then noticed the time and excused himself and hurried quickly to class.

"You are late Kishinuma." Matsuda-Sensei said angrily.

"I'm sorry Sensei; I was at the nurse's office." Yoshiki said, quickly walking to his seat while keeping his head down.

"Alright but one more step out of line and you'll be in detention." The teacher said, he turned around and began writing on the board. Yoshiki caught Satoshi's eye as he pulled his books out of his bag. Satoshi gave him a thumbs up because he could barely notice Yoshiki's lip.

The class continued on without incident and then the school bell rang signalling it was time for break, the teacher dismissed them and everyone filed out of the room quickly.

"Kishinuma-Kun, are you okay? Why were you at the nurse's office?" Ayumi asked worriedly.

Yoshiki panicked a little but he knew that she would feel a lot worse if she found out later on in the day and broke. "I just went to get my lip treated, it's okay so please don't worry about it." He said quietly, he gestured to the plaster on his lip.

Her eyes widened "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Ayumi said sadly.

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about it, the nurse treated it and it'll be better in no time, like I said it was an accident and you don't need to be worried about it." Yoshiki said. Satoshi came over quickly before Ayumi could answer.

"Hey have you seen Naomi?" She didn't come to class, she said she was going to the bathroom but I haven't seen her since." Satoshi asked worriedly.

"No, I haven't seen her since this morning. Shinozaki, could you check the bathroom please, I'll check the roof and Satoshi, you check the music room." Yoshiki said, they all nodded together before walking their separate ways. Naomi would hang out in the music room whenever anything was bothering her and she used to hang out on the roof with Seiko so they seemed like the best places to find her.

Ayumi walked into the girls' bathroom and called out for Naomi.

"Class rep, what's wrong?" Yuki, a girl from their class, asked.

"Have you seen Naomi anywhere?" Ayumi asked worriedly. Yuki laughed, causing Ayumi to frown.

"God knows where that psycho's gone, did you know that she sometimes comes in here to cry about some imaginary friend she has called Seiko, ha ha she's so crazy." Yuki giggled, Ayumi gritted her teeth and forced herself to calm down.

"Don't be so mean, she's going through a hard time right now and her friend Seiko was real! She just...uh...went to a different school and she passed away about a week ago, we all say things when we are grieving." Ayumi said sternly. Ayumi was upset that she even had to lie, her friends they had lost were real but here, because of the stupid curse, they weren't; which was very hard to deal with.

"Sorry Class Rep, I didn't realise." Yuki said, at least she had the decency to look guilty. Ayumi straightened herself up and walked away, deciding to go to the nurse's office to see if she was there.

Yoshiki walked up to the roof to see if Naomi was there, he looked around and saw her sitting in the corner hugging her knees. He sent a quick text to Satoshi to let her know he had found her and walked over and sat down beside her.

"Hey Nakashima, are you okay?" Yoshiki asked her quietly.

"No," she answered, her voice wobbly. "I don't think I'll ever be okay, I was a little happy this morning, then I went into the bathroom and I overheard these girls talking about me and laughing, saying all these nasty things and calling me a psycho. Seiko was real wasn't she?! She was my best friend." Naomi started to cry on Yoshiki's shoulder, he felt awkward because he didn't know her that well and he wished Satoshi would get there faster because he knew he wasn't the person that could make her feel better.

"Shinohara was real; you know it was the curse of the school that took her, Yui-Sensei and everyone else from us. It's going to be okay, maybe not right now but it will be, okay?" Yoshiki said sadly, he hated having to remember what happened. Relief flooded through him when Satoshi came rushing up to the roof and he awkwardly moved away from her and let Satoshi take his place.

"Thanks Yoshiki." Satoshi said quietly as he passed, he sat down beside Naomi and pulled her close to him, letting her hug him tightly and cry into his neck.

Yoshiki smiled sadly at his friend and walked away, he tried to bottle back his emotions desperately as he felt his sadness well up again. Lost in his thoughts he walked right into Ayumi, the impact made her fall down and he worriedly helped her up.

"Sorry Shinozaki, I didn't mean to, Satoshi and Nakashima are up on the roof, some girls said some really mean things about her and she overheard when she was in the bathroom." Yoshiki explained.

"It's okay, I bumped into a girl in the bathroom who was really rude, I told her Seiko went to a different school and passed away, hopefully that'll spread to those other girls and they won't be so mean to her again." Ayumi said sternly, she was still angry at Yuki and those girls for being so cruel.

"Are you okay?" Ayumi asked worriedly when she noticed how upset Yoshiki looked.

"I'll be okay, I guess I'm just a little out of sorts today, I just can't wait to go home, I don't really want to be here today." Yoshiki answered honestly, he had an overwhelming urge to just go home and mope but he knew he had to keep up appearances for his friends, he knew they too were just barely keeping themselves together and he didn't want to be selfish.

"If you're sure...we need to go, you don't want Matsuda-Sensei to give you detention because you know he'll take any excuse he can get." Ayumi said quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him hurriedly towards their classroom.

Satoshi and Naomi just barely made it back to class on time and the teacher didn't seem to notice that Naomi had been missing during their first class. Yoshiki felt exhausted, even though he had slept the night before, his exhaustion had seemed to come out of nowhere and he tried to make sure he wouldn't fall asleep in class. The rest of the day went on without incident and just as Ayumi tried to smoothly sneak off with the rest of the class she slumped as she heard Matsuda-Sensei's booming voice call her name. Waving to her friends sadly, she walked back to their teacher.

"Yes Sensei?" Ayumi asked.

"Alright Shinozaki you are going to sit through detention and watch over the other students. I have somewhere important I need to be and I need you to stay in my place." Matsuda-Sensei said matter-of-factly.

"Sensei, I don't think it's my responsibility to stay behind and do that." Ayumi said quietly, 'you can do this!' She thought to herself. 'Just like Naomi said, put your foot down.'

"Oh?" Matsuda-Sensei smirked. "You are Class Rep aren't you? You cannot disobey your Sensei." The teacher said sternly.

"I'm sorry Sensei, I'm afraid that this time I must, I also have personal matters to attend to and I am unable...I refuse to do it." Ayumi said, summoning all her courage to look him in the eyes defiantly.

"Humph" The Teacher replied, a frown forming on his face at her defiance. "Well Shinozaki, I am appalled that a Class Rep such as yourself would defy a teacher this way, I am sure the principal wouldn't like to hear this at all." Matsuda-Sensei smirked triumphantly as he saw her defiance waver at his threat. "I shall see you on Monday Miss Shinozaki." The teacher said cheerfully as he walked past her.

Ayumi welled up a little when he left the room, she didn't know what to do. She loved being Class Rep and didn't want to lose her title, but she also didn't want to be treated this way by her teacher. She was supposed to be going home that night too so she probably wouldn't sleep tonight either, she grudgingly walked to the detention classroom and watched as those in attendance were throwing paper aeroplanes at each other and talking.

"Excuse me! Please could you get on with your detention, I am going to be your supervisor for today." Ayumi said sternly. She received a few chuckles but she looked at them angrily and handed out their line sheets and sat down at the teacher's desk.

Ayumi knew that if she showed even the smallest sign of weakness, the other children wouldn't do their detention and she would be in even more trouble. She sighed inwardly as she watched the clock slowly rotate and made herself comfortable, knowing she would be here for another two hours.

Yoshiki waited at the gates for Satoshi and Naomi, knowing that Ayumi wouldn't be getting out for another two hours, he thought he would go home now and if she needed him to walk her home, she would call and he'd come out to meet her. Satoshi and Naomi walked over holding hands.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for finding me earlier Kishinuma," Naomi said gratefully.

"No problem, I'm just glad you're feeling better now." Yoshiki said, smiling slightly.

"Yuka wants me to walk her home, plus I owe her those sweets I promised, you wanna come with?" Satoshi asked him.

"Sure," Yoshiki replied cheerfully. He always liked Yuka, she reminded him of his own little sister Miki, and Yuka was close to him before and even more so after the incident at Heavenly Host.

They set off for the Middle School and saw Yuka standing by herself, cautiously looking left and right to make sure no one came too close to her when she was alone. As soon as she saw Satoshi, she made a beeline right for him and gave him a tight hug.

"Yuka...Are you okay?" Satoshi asked her worriedly.

"ONii-Chan, today was really hard, this girl was being mean to Yuka at school and she pushed Yuka and I fell." Yuka mumbled sadly, backing up to show him the cut on her knee.

"Did the teacher do anything Yuka?!" Satoshi asked, crouching to look at her knee better, it looked like she was pushed hard because the cut was worse than a normal graze.

"The Teacher gave her detention and made her say sorry." Yuka mumbled. Satoshi kissed her knee making her smile.

"There all better, you tell ONii-Chan if she does anything more." He said determinedly, "you wanna go to the sweet shop and I can get those treats I promised?" Satoshi asked cheerfully.

"Uhhuh" Yuka replied, a full smile appeared on her face.

"Are you okay now Yuka? Naomi asked.

"um...Yes" . She mumbled happily

"Hey Yuka, you know that girl is just jealous of how pretty you are." Yoshiki said cheerfully.

"um...you think so?" Yuka asked shyly.

"I know so." Yoshiki said, smiling kindly.

"Thank you." Yuka replied hugging him.

"You're welcome! Guys I'm gonna go home, I'm really tired." Yoshiki said, he yawned tiredly before waving at his friends and walked home. He didn't know why he felt so tired, he was glad it was the weekend though, he didn't think he could cope with one more day of his cruel teacher. He got home and lay down on the sofa, he turned on the TV and thought about the day.

School was becoming harder and harder to deal with, the teacher and his classmates were draining on his willpower. He missed Yui-Sensei and his lost classmates so much, he didn't even realise how much he would until they were taken from them. He thought that because he and his friends escaped from the school, it would have made everything better; it would have meant that his friends and sensei hadn't died for nothing but then it seemed as if they didn't exist at all and people started to think that they were crazy and he just wished he could turn back time.

Yoshiki slowly drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

'Kishinuma. Take care of Shinozaki...No I'll climb up on my own...Don't you understand the gravity of the situation? Get the hell out of here!' Yui-Sensei stared at him desperately as he nodded back at her.

'I can't take this anymore' he heard as a splash happened behind him, he ran to investigate and found that Ayumi had jumped in the pool and he dived after her.

'Kishinuma-Kun I'm scared.' Ayumi said to him with watery eyes

*giggling and the sound of scissors snipping*

'Shinozaki come back' he shouted and then he felt pain at on his head before everything went dark.

Yoshiki looked in the mirror and saw Ayumi looking back with a scary expression on her face, he then turned to look at her and she blinked innocently back at him.

'SHUT THE GODDAMN DOOR!' He heard before the stall door was rudely shut in his face.

He walked into the infirmary after he heard some giggling and saw Mayu sitting with Tokiko and Yuki. Then it flashes as he sees Mayu being taken away and her bloody impaled body at the end of the hall.

"NO!" He shouted as he woke up in a cold sweat. Ayumi was sitting opposite him on the coffee table.

"Kishinuma-Kun, are you okay?! I used your spare key to get in, I thought you might have been asleep and I came to get my things." Ayumi said worriedly, she leaned over and gave him a tight hug, rubbing gentle circles on his back, he was still breathing heavily as tears welled up and he broke down hugging her closer to him.

"I'm sorry, I...I should have done a better job but I didn't; I couldn't do anything. I just wish I did more and...I just." Yoshiki sobbed quietly; he had bottled up everything for so long it was bound to come out sometime.

"Hey Kishinuma-kun it's okay." She said soothingly, "shh, it's okay, it's not your fault you did everything you could and then some, and there was nothing else you possibly could have done!" She said softly, hugging him tighter, she started to get a little emotional because, although she had seen him upset before, she had never seen him break down like this and it was killing her.

Yoshiki sniffed and Ayumi pulled away slightly to wipe his eyes, his eyes were red and he looked so vulnerable and Ayumi just couldn't help herself. She leaned over slowly, allowing him time to back away if he wanted and kissed him gently, his eyes widened before he pulled her closer and kissed her back just as gently.

He pulled back when the need for air became too much, his lip hurt a little but he couldn't bring himself to care and he leaned his forehead forward to touch hers.

"Thank you, Shinozaki" He said quietly, a smile pulling on his lips. Ayumi smiled happily, proud that she had helped him feel better.

"You're welcome; you know you can tell me anything right? Even if it seems like I'm having a hard time, I care about you and I want to be able to help you when you're hurting." Ayumi replied earnestly.

"We're all having a hard time, I'm just glad you came over when I woke up, I don't know what I would have done if I had woken up alone after that nightmare. I just...I want you to know that I love you." Yoshiki said bravely, he was afraid that Ayumi would reject him but at that moment he felt like he needed to say it, relief flooded through him as Ayumi's shocked expression changed into one of happiness.

"I love you too...Yoshiki." She said shyly, he blushed at her use of his name and slowly leaned in and kissed her. He could kiss her a million times and never get used to the feeling of her lips on his, his hand was resting on her cheek and he stroked it while they kissed.

They pulled apart for some much needed air. "I'm sorry Yoshiki but I need to go home, I promised my mother I would be home tonight." Ayumi said, reluctantly pulling away. She walked over and grabbed her overnight bag, Yoshiki stood up to walk her to the door, he hugged her firmly before pulling her into another kiss, this time; the kiss became more passionate as it went on before they needed to pull back.

"I love you Ayumi." Yoshiki told her; happy he could tell her how he felt now.

"I love you too Yoshiki." She replied with a big smile on her face.

"I'll walk you home okay?" Yoshiki said, putting on his shoes and walking hand in hand towards Ayumi's house. They walked in a comfortable silence and when they reached Ayumi's door; they kissed.

"Do you want to go out on a date tomorrow?" Yoshiki asked, strangely nervous about asking her.

"Okay." She replied, blushing slightly.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow" Yoshiki replied happily, giving her a peck before making the long walk back to his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to end it here guys, hopefully that should tide you over through my hiatus. Hope you enjoyed my fic :3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys I'm back from my hellatus! So I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter. The coursework stressed me out a bit and I just decided to take a break and I got into University so I had to sort out accommodation etc. So thanks for being patient and let's get this show on the road! (Quick Side Note: Any Brand Names mentioned is not a sponsor or anything etc. I do not own anything and other products are available lol)

Yoshiki entered his apartment with a big smile on his face and he nearly jumped out of his skin as he narrowly avoided walking into Miki.

"Miki! You scared the hell out of me? What are you doing here? You know dad will kill you if he finds out." Yoshiki said shocked, there was no real anger in his voice as he was just happy to see his sister.

"Oh Dad will live! Mom knows I'm here, so it's okay. Anyway, what were you smiling about bro?" Miki asked cheerfully, hugging him tightly. "I've missed you so much." She added sadly.

"I'll explain later, I've really missed you too, how long do you think you can stay for?" Yoshiki asked, hugging her back tightly.

"I can stay the night; Mom told Dad that I'm staying at Anju's house. Is that okay? I just wanted to spend more time with you." Miki mumbled sadly.

"No that's great! What do you want to do tonight then? We can watch movies or do whatever you want, my treat. I might have to go to the store though if you don't mind waiting." Yoshiki suggested, glad he was able to see his younger sister.

"Oh can we make top-hats like we used to? Pleeeeaaase?" She asked, jumping excitedly and giving him puppy eyes, once he saw them; he was gone.

"Yes of course! I'm going to need to go to the store to get all the ingredients. We could get some Rice Krispies to make Rice Krispie buns with the left over chocolate as well?" Yoshiki said, smiling when he saw Miki's eyes light up.

"Yay! Thanks Yoshiki. Can I come to the store with you?" Miki asked excitedly.

"Um...Sure if you want, we'll need to be careful though. Dad might see us." Yoshiki said worriedly.

"It'll be fine Yoshiki! Dad can't stop me from seeing you, no matter how much he will try!" Miki told him off sternly. "You worry too much!" She added; more affection in her voice than anything.

"Okay then, let's go." Yoshiki said happily. He grabbed his wallet and opened the door for Miki to go out before him.

When they went to the store, Yoshiki and Miki split up; Yoshiki getting the Chocolate, Rice Krispies and bun-cases, while Miki went to get the Marshmallows and a packet of Smarties. When they had both got what they needed, they met up and took their items to the check-out, Yoshiki paid for the items and then they went back to his apartment.

"Alright, you get the food and the bun-cases ready and I'll get the pan and everything set up, okay?" Yoshiki said as he set the bags down on the Kitchen counter.

"Okay Yoshiki." Miki agreed cheerfully, pulling the ingredients out of the bag and setting out the bun-cases on the table. Yoshiki pulled out a pot and a large bowl, filling the pot with water and setting it on the cooker, he then put the bowl on top of the pot and put the chocolate into the bowl, turning on the hob to melt the chocolate.

"So how has school been?" Yoshiki asked Miki as he waited.

"Smeh, it's boring but it's okay, I really wish you would come home though." Miki said sadly.

Yoshiki put his arm around her. "I know Miki but we've been over this; I don't want to be what dad wants me to be and he can't accept that. If you take anything from this shi...ahem crappy situation, I want you to know that I never chose to leave you. Dad wanted me out, I know Mom didn't want me to go but what could she do? It's better this way anyway, I've got my job, my friends and most importantly; I still have you." Yoshiki said, hugging her tightly, she had started to cry and he wanted to cheer her up.

"I'm sorry Yoshiki! Please don't hate me because I still live there." Miki cried sadly, hugging him tightly.

"Hey! I could never hate you! This is not your fault okay. I would never blame you, now come on, no more tears. Let's make chocolate buns and watch a movie." He told her, he pulled away to look at her face and wiped her tears. "I love you Miki. You're my little sister and I will never hate you, I promise." He said to her.

"I love you too ONii-San. I know it seems stupid but this girl at school today said that you should hate me because "I'm the favourite" and you would resent me." Miki said sadly.

"Well you tell that girl at school that she's wrong and she don't know me!" Yoshiki said overdramatically, making her giggle. Yoshiki then turned to stir the chocolate, making sure it was all melted before he turned the hob down and brought the bowl over to the table with two teaspoons.

"Can I go first Yoshiki?" Miki asked as Yoshiki handed her a spoon.

"Sure." Yoshiki said, smiling happily as Miki seemed happier now, she took a spoonful of the melted chocolate and put it on the bottom of a bun-case, she then took a marshmallow and pressed it on top of the chocolate, adding another spoonful of chocolate on top of the marshmallow and adding a smartie to the top of that before putting it on a tray to go into the fridge when they finished making as many as they wanted.

Yoshiki added some Rice Krispies into the bowl of chocolate that was left and Miki took the bigger spoon and stirred the mixture.

"Do we have to put them into the bun-cases? I kind of want to eat them like this." Miki asked with a pout.

"No we can eat them like that if you want. Why don't you sit down on the sofa with the bowl and I'll make us some tea and get the movie set up." Yoshiki smiled at her when her eyes lit up, she excitedly sat down on the sofa and immediately began eating the chocolate mixture.

Yoshiki boiled the kettle and made them both tea, he then brought the cups and set them on the coffee table, "what movie would you like to watch Miki?" He asked her.

"Hmmm, can we watch Harry Potter? The first one?" Miki asked excitedly, taking a careful sip of her hot tea.

"Okay," he said, reaching for his DVD and setting it into the DVD player. He then sat beside her; lifting his cup and pulling the blankets around them both while they waited for the menu to come up.

"So...why were you smiling earlier? You never did tell me." Miki asked curiously.

"Well...You remember the girl I told you about?" Yoshiki asked shyly.

"Ummm, Shinozaki?" Miki asked.

"Yeah, well I asked her out on a date and she said yes." Yoshiki said with a small smile on his face.

"ONii-San you are blushing!" Miki teased, "I'm happy for you, you have been pining after her for aaaaaggges, I was practically growing a beard waiting for you to make a move." Miki said laughing.

"Shut up." He said awkwardly with no real venom in his voice. "And I was not pining. I just didn't want her to hate me because I wasn't sure if she felt the same way."

"Oh you were totally pining. Where are you going on your date?" She asked curiously.

"I'm not sure yet, I was thinking of taking her to the cinema and then going for a walk or something." Yoshiki told her, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Would you not take her out for dinner like normal people?" Miki asked jokingly.

"No I wanted to take her to a movie as it was a first date." Yoshiki said.

"Okay well don't forget, a lady is always right, listen to her and ask her what she would like to do but also be confident." Miki said sagely, stroking her imaginary beard.

"Pfft, are you referring to yourself as the lady?" Yoshiki chuckled at Miki's squeal of indignation and the pillow he received to the face.

"Jerk ONii-San! Let's watch Harry Potter!" Miki said indignantly.

"I'm sorry, I love you!" Yoshiki said, giving Miki his best puppy eyes as he simultaneously pressed play on the DVD remote.

"I love you too!" Miki relented with a smile as she snuggled next to Yoshiki and watched the film.

When the film was over, Yoshiki looked over to see Miki sleeping up against him. Yoshiki lifted her up gently, carefully trying not to wake her and laid her onto his bed. He pulled the covers up over her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He smiled gently as she snuggled into the pillow and he turned off the light.

Walking into the kitchen, Yoshiki began cleaning up all the dishes to keep himself busy, he didn't want to sleep and have a nightmare while Miki was there, so he made sure that he stayed awake all night.

Yoshiki sent a text to Ayumi, asking her if she was free the next day for their date. He suggested they go see the new Captain America movie in the cinema, or whatever film she wanted to see in case she didn't like it. She text him back letting him know that it sounded great and that she couldn't wait. They ended up texting all night as Ayumi couldn't sleep when she wasn't at Yoshiki's and Yoshiki couldn't have a nightmare-free night without Ayumi. In the morning he drank a cup of Coffee to make sure Miki didn't know he hadn't slept.

"Good Morning ONii-San," Miki said tiredly as she walked in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Morning Miki, did you sleep well?" Yoshiki asked her, smiling at her sleepiness."

"Yes thanks. Can I have some cereal please?" Miki asked tiredly.

"Sure, why don't you sit down and I'll get it for you, then you can eat your top hats and you can take the rest with you when mom comes to pick you up."

"Okays." Miki said, dramatically flopping down onto the sofa.

Yoshiki laughed and poured some milk into a bowl and set the bowl into the microwave to heat up the milk. Yoshiki personally hated warm milk in cereal but Miki always preferred warm milk with her cereal. When the milk was warm enough, he poured the cereal into the bowl and set the bowl and a spoon down on the table in front of Miki, who made adorable sleepy grabby hands at the bowl.

"Fooooood! I was literally wasting away I was that hungry." Miki said through a mouthful of cereal.

"I highly doubt it." Yoshiki chuckled.

"Are you not eating?" Miki asked, while eating another heaped spoonful.

"Nah I already ate. I woke up at 6:30." Yoshiki told her, he wasn't lying about the eating part.

"Oh okay, well Mom is picking me up at 10:30, she's hoping Dad won't notice I was here so that's why she's picking me up early." Miki said sadly.

"That's okay, at least you got to stay over and spend some time with me." Yoshiki said cheerfully. "You'd need to start getting ready though because you know she'll come earlier than she said; she's always early."

"Okay" Miki said with a pout, she picked up her bag and walked into Yoshiki's bedroom to get changed. Yoshiki picked up her bowl and spoon and brought them into the kitchen to wash them, when he was finished Miki came out of his room and skipped over to give him a hug.

"ONii-San I don't want to go." Miki said sadly. Yoshiki hugged her back tightly, feeling a pang of sadness go through him as he did.

"Hey it's okay, you'll see me again soon don't worry. You're my little sister and even though I can't always be around, I will always be there for you when you need me. I promise." Yoshiki told her, he kissed her on the top of her head and she gave him a watery smile.

"Okays! I believe you. I want you to know that, you are a huge dork but I wouldn't have you any other way." Miki joked weakly, they heard a beep outside and Yoshiki walked her out to the car.

"Bye Nii-San!" Miki said, giving him a final hug before running into the car.

"Hello Yoshiki, you're looking good I see." Yoshiki's mother said, trying to stay emotionless but Yoshiki could see the pain in her eyes.

"Hey Mom, so are you." He said awkwardly, not knowing what to do, it was painful for him not to just go to her and have her hug him like she used to when he was little.

"How is your job at the Music Store?" His mother asked quietly.

"Oh it's going well, the money isn't fantastic or anything but it's enough." Yoshiki said, smiling kindly at her.

"That's good, well we better get going, we have a busy day isn't that right Miki?" His mother said matter-of-factly.

"Oh yes Mother, very busy." Miki said sarcastically, pouting with her arms folded.

Yoshiki gave Miki a look and mouthed 'Be Nice' to her when their mother wasn't looking.

"Okay, see you." Yoshiki said and turned towards his apartment.

"Yoshiki?" His mother asked, making him hesitate at the sound of her voice. "You really do look well." She added sadly before she drove off.

Yoshiki sighed and walked into his apartment, he sat down on the sofa and tried to keep himself calm as seeing his mother always made him sad. He heard a knock at the door as a tear fell and he wiped his face furiously before he stood up to see who it was.

"Hey Yoshiki...are you okay, you're face is red." Satoshi said, he worriedly looked at his best friend's face when Yoshiki let him in.

"Hey Satoshi, I'm fine, my sister stayed the night and I had an awkward conversation with my Mother just before you came over, what's up?" Yoshiki said, sitting down on his sofa as Satoshi sat down on his chair.

"Oh I wanted to talk about Naomi, do you think she likes me? Like should I ask her out?" Satoshi asked him worriedly. Yoshiki just laughed causing Satoshi to frown defensively.

"Oh my God Satoshi, could you be anymore oblivious?" Yoshiki chuckled.

"What?! It was an honest question." Satoshi said defensively. "I really like her and I came to you for advice, not to get laughed at. You Jerk." Satoshi said indignantly.

"Satoshi calm down, I mean how could you be so blind? I mean it's obvious to everyone that she likes you and you like her, I was under the impression you both were already a thing." Yoshiki said smugly.

"Really? So if I asked her out do you think she would say yes?" Satoshi asked shyly.

"Without a doubt." Yoshiki said smirking at him. "Personally I think you are an idiot who should have done it a long time ago, even before the, you know, incident." Yoshiki added awkwardly.

"Thanks. I'm going to ask her tomorrow, she's spending the day with her family today and Yuka's at our grandmother's house, she really wanted me to go but Mom told her grandma only wanted her there. She wants to teach Yuka how to knit, they think it'll bring her out of her shell more because to them Yuka's gone shy and quiet out of the blue. I don't know what to do Yoshiki; I keep feeling like it's my fault." Satoshi said anxiously.

"Satoshi it isn't! That place messed us all up in a lot of ways and Yuka is strong, she'll come around. Right now she's probably feeling insecure and having you there makes her feel better but she will grow out of it eventually. You just have to be patient with her." Yoshiki said, trying to reassure Satoshi.

"Thanks Yoshiki, that really helps a lot." Satoshi said with relief.

"No problem, what are friends for?" Yoshiki said, "You wanna play a game? I have to be showered and out of here by 6 though." He added awkwardly.

"Sure and why do you have to go?" Satoshi asked curiously.

"Umm...I may or may not have a date?" Yoshiki said shyly, trying to contain a smile.

"What?! With who?!" Satoshi shouted incredulously, causing Yoshiki to roll his eyes and give Satoshi a look. "Oh my God, you asked Shinozaki out on a date? I'm happy for you. I was getting sick of the pining." Satoshi chuckled when Yoshiki glared at him.

"I was not pining! Anyway, yes I asked her out and she said yes. I'm kind of nervous though, I really want it to go well and I just chose the cinema but I am not sure what to do after the movie." Yoshiki said nervously.

"I'm sure you'll do great, ever since the incident, you guys have been really close and I've seen the way she looks at you and I think you guys would be perfect together." Satoshi said happily.

"Thanks Satoshi. Come on let's play some Xbox." Yoshiki said, feeling a little awkward. He made himself another cup of coffee and a cup of tea for Satoshi and then they sat down to play. When they finished, Satoshi left at 4:30, giving Yoshiki enough time to get himself ready for the date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to end it here guys, hope you've enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry for the wait, ooh and I would like you to leave a comment or a suggestion letting me know what you would like to see on the date.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okays so customary excuse of I've been busy and I'm sorry. Uni and family stuff has been taking up my time (plus a huge Rickyl phase!) I have been reading the reviews and trying to incorporate what you guys want into a chapter so I hope you enjoy.

Yoshiki nervously checked himself out in the mirror, making sure his hair was sitting perfectly. He was wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, he had a red tie and a black waistcoat and he was also wearing black skinny jeans with red converse. He wished Satoshi had stayed a little while longer just to keep him calm as the nerves began to get the better of him; and he wasn't sure if what he was wearing was good enough. He decided to make himself some tea to calm himself and watched some television while he waited.

Ayumi had been texting him all day trying to keep her own nerves in check while she was with her parents, she knew they were going to see the new Captain America movie but she was unsure what they would do after that. She had some light foundation with lilac eye-shadow and light pink lip gloss on her face and she was wearing a simple purple dress with black leggings and a pair of flats. Her hair was down and she was wearing a hairband which had a purple bow attached.

"Ayumi, come down here a moment." Her mother called from the kitchen.

"Coming!" She shouted and ran down to see what she wanted.

"You look lovely Ayumi, do you know what you will be doing tonight?" Ayumi's mother asked.

"I think we're going to see a movie but I'm not sure what else we'll be doing." Ayumi said, nervously rubbing her hands together.

"Don't be so nervous Ayumi, you are an amazing girl and there is no way that he wouldn't like you." Her mother reassured her, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Thanks mom," Ayumi said shyly, feeling a lot better already.

"You're welcome, I need you to come home tonight though because Grandma is coming tomorrow morning and I'm going to need your help with Sunday dinner." Her mother said to her, giving Ayumi an apologetic look as she knew that Ayumi wasn't sleeping. Ayumi had been upfront with her mother about everything and her mom believed her, which made the whole situation easier for her as the Shinozaki women have always had some sort of psychic abilities and beliefs.

"Okay mom," Ayumi nodded; she knew her mother wouldn't ask unless it was important.

"Are you going to be okay to help out tomorrow? Your father is going to be working late tonight but he'll be here tomorrow for dinner." Her mother said, worry masking her features.

"Yeah mom, I'll be fine. I'm hoping that this is just a phase I'll get out of, I miss Yui-Sensei and when I try to sleep, all I see is her face telling us to get out of there. I don't know why but Kishinuma-Kun helps me relax when I need to sleep, maybe it was because he kept me safe the whole time; even when I was mean to him but I just can't seem to get to sleep without him there."Ayumi said anxiously. Her mom pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's going to be okay Ayumi. I know it's hard but sometimes these things just take time and this Kishinuma-Kun seems to be good for you so just try and not think about the horrible things that happened at the school and focus on your friends and this date and just take things one step at a time." Her mother said, reaching over to make a cup of tea to calm Ayumi down.

"Thanks mom," Ayumi said again, sighing contently as she took a sip of her tea. "I am nervous but excited; I think it's going to be fun."

"What time is he calling round?" Her mom asked, smiling kindly at her.

"In half an hour, the movie starts at 7 and I think we're walking, it's not that far anyway." Ayumi replied, taking another sip of tea and setting her cup down as her phone beeped.

'Hey, I'm leaving mine now, be there soon :)' Yoshiki's text read. Ayumi smiled and quickly typed out her reply.

'Okays ^_^ see you soon :3' Her text read. She startled as she saw her mom looking at her with a smug grin on her face.

"Awwww, so cute Ayumi." Her mother teased, causing Ayumi's cheeks to flush in embarrassment.

"Shut up." She mumbled, biting her lip shyly.

"I think it's adorable," her mom added, pinching her cheek as she passed, heading for the living room so she could watch TV.

Ayumi was about to reply when she heard the knock at the door. Nervously checking herself in the mirror, she rushed to the door to answer it.

Yoshiki stood there, nervous energy flowing through him as he waited. And when the door opened, he felt winded. Ayumi looked beautiful; a healthy glow to her cheeks and everything about her was amazing.

"You look really good," he said dumbly, groaning internally at his lameness.

"Thanks you do too, Yoshiki." Ayumi said shyly. "I just need to go tell my mom I'm going I'll be right back." She added quickly before rushing into the living room.

"Is that him?" Ayumi's mother asked excitedly, looking at him through the curtains. "Oh he looks so cute Ayumi; he must really like you to try so hard." Her mom added, giggling at Ayumi's blush.

"Yes mom, that's him, I have to go, love you." Ayumi said, giving her mom a quick hug before heading out.

"Have fun and be safe." Her mom added seriously as she waved her daughter off.

"I will," she shouted before she closed the front door behind her. "Sorry for the wait." She said to Yoshiki as she rushed towards him.

"It's okay; we'll be early to the movie anyway." Yoshiki reassured her as they began the walk towards town. "So, how was your day?" Yoshiki asked her, content to just listen to her talk for a while.

"It was pretty boring, Grandma's coming over tomorrow morning so I have to stay at home tonight to help mom make Sunday dinner, Grandma may be a tiny woman but she sure can put it away." Ayumi giggled, feeling less nervous as she talked to him, she was afraid the date would make everything seem different but Yoshiki was still the same as he normally was which put her at ease. "What about you?" She added, looking at him intently.

"Well my sister Miki was at my house after I walked you home last night and she got to stay the night, she had to go early this morning though, I was a bit bummed out but the rest of my day wasn't too bad since Satoshi came over and we played video games for about 2/3 hours." Yoshiki replied cheerfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yoshiki, I'm glad Mochida-Kun came over though." Ayumi said, reaching over to squeeze his hand, which he squeezed back to let her know he was okay, he kept a hold of her hand, letting their fingers slot together and threw her a reassuring shy smile.

"It's okay, Miki will be over another day, as much as he tries; dad can't stop her. I don't think anyone can stop Miki once she's set her mind on something. Yuka reminds me so much of her. Before the incident, Yuka was very confident; she was the princess of the house and always had Satoshi and I wrapped around her little finger. Of course she still does that now but not as intentionally as she used to." Yoshiki said happily, reminiscing the old days when he and Satoshi stayed at each other's places when he didn't want to stay in his apartment alone.

"I couldn't imagine Yuka trying to use that to her advantage, she's too cute." Ayumi giggled behind her free hand.

"Trust me, Yuka used to pull those big puppy eyes of hers and beg us to get her sweets and we would do it. She never did anything bad though, she's incredibly sweet, and Satoshi said she made this charm for him to keep him safe when they first got to the school. He said she was so determined that he took them because she wanted her "Nii-chan to be safe". Yoshiki explained, smiling at the thought.

"Oh my god, that's so adorable. She is literally so sweet." Ayumi added, reminding herself to get something nice to give to Yuka the next time she saw her.

"I know, are you sure you want to see Captain America? I mean we can see something else if you want to, I don't mind." Yoshiki asked her nervously as they were nearing the cinema.

"Are you kidding? I've been excited to see this movie for ages; I've heard so many amazing things about it." Ayumi exclaimed, allowing her inner fangirl to roam free, before wrenching her back inside under lock and key before she made a fool of herself.

"Great! Yeah I've heard so many great reviews about it, been trying to keep myself away from any spoilers as well, I refused to watch the trailer I was that adamant about spoilers." Yoshiki replied happily. He was excited for the film and was even more excited that Ayumi was going to see it with him.

When he got to the ticket booth he asked for the tickets and paid for them both.

"Yoshiki, since you got the tickets I'll get the snacks, it's only fair." Ayumi said, looking at him with a fond but determined look, which he knew he couldn't argue with.

"Sure, I just want a packet of M&Ms though and a bottle of water," Yoshiki said, but when she threw a suspicious look his way, he sheepishly added. "I don't really eat or drink much at the cinema; I don't like to miss anything."

"I suppose it makes sense." Ayumi agreed, and ended up getting herself the same thing. They walked into the studio they were supposed to be in and looked around for somewhere to sit. When they chose their seats, they sat down and got themselves sorted; making sure to put their phones on silent, opening their M&Ms so they wouldn't do it during the movie and setting their bottles of water in their seat cup-holders.

"I am so excited," Ayumi said beside him.

"I know me too." Yoshiki replied, smiling when she let out a hushed excited squeak.

They settled down when the film started. Ayumi began to lean into Yoshiki's side anxiously when Fury had to get away from his pursuers and Yoshiki shyly put his arm around her, not in a cheesy pretend-to-yawn-way but a cute hugging her to him sort of way. They stayed like that for the rest of the film and when the film ended, people began to walk out.

"That's how you know they are weak individuals," Ayumi remarked, silently judging all the people that were leaving.

"What?" Yoshiki let out a surprised chuckle when he saw her watching the steadily declining line of people.

"You must stay for the entire duration of a Marvel movie. It's just common sense, there's the clip at the end of the first credits, then the clip at the very end of the big credits. I mean come on, it's not like it would kill you to stay an extra five minutes." Ayumi explained, causing Yoshiki to grin.

"So I take it you're a huge Marvel fan then?" Yoshiki asked her, chuckling when Ayumi rolled her eyes at him.

"Well duh. Marvel is life, and I'm literally so excited for the next Avengers." Ayumi said, shushing Yoshiki's reply when the first credits had ended and the Age of Ultron teaser clip appeared.

"That's gonna be great." Yoshiki exclaimed when it was finished. "I literally can't wait for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to join the Avengers and how they'll explain their powers."

"I know. I heard they're not allowed to say Mutants because of Fox's ownership over X-Men; which kind of sucks because I would have loved a crossover and what are they gonna say? Magic?!" Ayumi replied incredulously.

Yoshiki watched Ayumi with amazement, loving the fact that he could talk to her about this kind of stuff. "I know the magic thing is a bit far-fetched but I don't know, they seem like they could pull it off, it'll just depend on how they explain Quicksilver as well."

"Yeah I just hope they don't mess it up, quiet the next one is coming up." Ayumi agreed, before shushing him again.

When it was over Ayumi was hugging herself. "Poor Bucky, I can't wait for Cap 3, Bucky's not going to be in the next Avengers film but he'll definitely be in Cap 3 and I'm so excited." She exclaimed as they stood up and began walking out of the cinema.

"I know I can't wait, it's going to be sad though because once Cap 3 and Avengers 3 are over, Chris Evans doesn't want to do anymore." Yoshiki replied, "do you wanna go somewhere for food? I'm kind of hungry now." He added, looking over at her.

"Hmmm, I really just want to go to McDonalds, I haven't been there in ages." Ayumi replied, thinking of the milkshakes she used to get there.

"We can go there if you want; it's not that far away." Yoshiki agreed, reaching his hand out shyly so she could take his hand.

They walked hand in hand to McDonalds and went to the counter. They ordered their food and two strawberry milkshakes, which Yoshiki paid for before Ayumi could do it. Ayumi glared half-heartedly at him before taking their tray and walking towards their seats.

"Thank you," she said to him, shaking her head at him fondly.

"You're welcome." He replied, setting out their food and handing Ayumi a straw. "So...what are you hoping to do when you finish school?" Yoshiki asked her.

"I really wanted to be a teacher, but I'm not sure if I will because Hinoe wants me to develop my 'skills.'" Ayumi replied while making a quote gesture with her hands, smiling slightly. She was having a really great time, relaxing the more the night went on and letting all the bad things that happened in the recent past, go for the night. "What about you?"

"Well you know I work in the music store part-time, I know it might sound stupid but I wanted to be a musician." Yoshiki replied with a faint blush.

"No it doesn't sound stupid at all, what kind of music would you like to make?" Ayumi asked, looking at him curiously while taking a sip of her milkshake.

"Probably rock music, but not too heavy or anything. I know how to play the Electric Guitar but I need to learn a few more things before I'd be happy with it. How is Hinoe anyway?" Yoshiki asked, feeling a little shy when he talked about his music.

"Sounds great I can't wait to hear it. Hinoe's still out of town on that job, she called and let us know she was alright though, I can't wait to find out what her job was like." Ayumi replied, she had already told him about Hinoe's powers and the kind of work she did. "You don't have to if you don't want to but, what was Miki like when she was younger? Was she like Yuka, following Mochida-Kun about?" She asked tentatively, afraid of upsetting Yoshiki.

Yoshiki set his burger down, quiet for a few moments when he was thinking. "Miki never followed me about quite as much as Yuka, but ever since I started living on my own; she misses me more and tries to sneak over more often. We used to argue all the time over nothing when we were younger but we always made up in the end and we both knew that we didn't mean anything that we said but now we're so close. Although, one time when we were younger, I switched the sugar with salt and she made herself tea and spat it out everywhere and she got in trouble and I just remember that I couldn't stop laughing even when she glared daggers at me. She tripped me up later that day and I dropped my bowl ice-cream on the floor and I was seriously pissed off...but, I couldn't stay mad at her for long." Yoshiki answered, smiling as he thought about Miki laughing that day and taking a triumphant spoonful of her own ice-cream as she strut off.

"That sounds cute, Hinoe and I never did anything like that, she used to get these beauty products and have these 'girly days' but that was ages ago. She's always so busy now but she'll still bring home a silly trinket or something from her work to cheer me up." Ayumi replied, smiling when Yoshiki squeezed her hand gently, neither of them having noticed when they began to hold hands.

"Next time she comes home, you should just sit her down and tell her you're having a 'girly day' and hang out. I can tell you miss her so just don't give her a choice." Yoshiki suggested, giving her an encouraging smile.

"Thanks Yoshiki, I will do that." Ayumi replied, grateful for the idea.

"You're welcome. You ready to go? I'll walk you home." Yoshiki asked as he noticed the checkout girl giving them dirty looks for keeping her from closing.

"Okay," she replied. Yoshiki held the door open for her as they left and they walked hand in hand to her house. "Hey, Yoshiki?" Ayumi asked shyly.

"Yeah?" Yoshiki replied, looking over to her.

"Thank you for taking me out tonight, I had a really great time." Ayumi said, bravely leaning over to kiss him on the cheek with an adorable bashful grin.

"You're welcome; I had an awesome time too." Yoshiki replied shyly, a flush spreading up his neck to his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

They shyly walked together to Ayumi's house, their hands lightly swinging between them. When they got to the door, Ayumi turned to Yoshiki shyly.

"I'll be able to come over tomorrow night okay?" Ayumi said to him.

"That's great; I'll see you tomorrow then." Yoshiki replied and they looked at each other awkwardly.

Ayumi leaned over to give him a hug before helping him out and kissing him softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ayumi." Yoshiki told her quietly, a soft smile lighting up his features before he let her go.

"I love you." Ayumi said as he began to walk away, causing him to turn to her.

"I love you too." He replied with a soft genuine smile, then he turned back around and walked away.

Ayumi smiled and walked into her house, leaning back on the door when it closed.

"Hey Ayumi, how was your date?" Her mother; Asuka, asked.

"It was great mom, I had a really great time and Captain America was amazing! I can't wait for the next one." She replied, taking her hairband off and walking up the stairs.

Ayumi took off her make-up and flopped onto her bed, turning on the television as she got changed into her pyjamas and reached for her phone.

'Thanks again for the amazing night :3.' Ayumi text Yoshiki with a smile.

'You're welcome! Thanks for agreeing to go on the date :)' Yoshiki replied.

Yoshiki smiled, putting his phone back in his pocket, he wasn't too far from his apartment and he didn't feel the need to rush home as it was a nice enough night. Nearing his apartment complex, he noticed 3 maybe 4 guys walking towards him.

"Oi look it's Kishinuma." One of them shouted. Yoshiki felt a little uneasy but tried to ignore the horrible feeling in his gut.

"Where are your psycho friends? 'Oh Yui-Sensei, Suzumoto, Seiko, Morishige' boohoo." Another mocked. The closer they got, the more Yoshiki could recognise that they were boys from his class.

Yoshiki tried to walk by them but they stood in front of him, causing him to stop.

"Where do you think you're going Kishinuma? We're talking to you." Takashi jeered.

"Look I just want to go home." Yoshiki replied, not wanting to confront them.

"Well we just want to talk to you." Ren said, smirking at him.

"Well what do you want?" Yoshiki answered, trying to keep himself emotionless.

"We want you to tell us about your psycho friends." Hikaru answered, taking a step closer to Yoshiki.

"They are not psycho." Yoshiki said, trying to keep his anger in check.

"Are you sure about that?" Yoshiyuki replied sinisterly, taking a step closer. Yoshiki noted that Hikaru and Ren had stepped behind him and he instinctively stayed still, wanting to run but knowing that it would make things worse.

"I don't think he's got the message Yoshi, he needs to know that he and his psycho friends need to be taught a lesson." Takashi said to Yoshiyuki, while staring smugly at Yoshiki.

Yoshiki's heart fell, he knew he was outnumbered and he was too far away from his apartment complex to shout for someone. He steeled himself, knowing that he wouldn't go down without a fight.

"I think you're right Takashi." Yoshiyuki replied, throwing a look to Ren and Hikaru, who grabbed for Yoshiki's arms. Yoshiki struggled, trying to free his arms from their grip but fell back as Yoshiyuki threw a hard punch at his face and Takashi threw a punch to his stomach when Yoshiyuki pulled back.

Yoshiki was winded but managed to kick Takashi in the groin before he was able to pull away. "Let go of me." He demanded as he struggled, trying to dislodge the two boys behind him.

"You'll pay for that Kishinuma." Yoshiyuki promised as he punched Yoshiki's face again, causing Yoshiki's already split lip to bust again. Takashi groaned as he stood up and punched Yoshiki in the stomach again, causing Yoshiki to cough, spitting the blood from his lip at them.

"Fuck you." Yoshiki said in the heat of the moment.

Yoshiyuki aimed another punch, hitting Yoshiki in the eye which knocked Yoshiki back into Hikaru and Ren. This caused Hikaru to stumble and lose his grip which gave Yoshiki the chance to wrench his arm from his grasp. Yoshiki took his chance and punched Ren in the face, causing the other boy to fall over.

"Don't just sit there get him." Yoshiyuki demanded, looking a little worried now that Yoshiki was free.

"Yoshiki!" Yoshiki turned to the voice.

"Satoshi?" He asked, feeling relieved to see his best friend.

Satoshi ran over and punched Yoshiyuki in the face, who had been steadily advancing towards Yoshiki's back.

"Leave him alone." Satoshi demanded, standing bravely beside Yoshiki and glaring at Yoshiyuki, the other boys began to slink off, nursing their wounds.

"This isn't over psychos." Yoshiyuki promised, looking less menacing by the minute as he retreated.

Satoshi turned to Yoshiki worriedly, "are you okay? Dude you're bleeding!" He said helping his friend walk towards his apartment complex.

"I'm alright, just a bit sore but I'll be fine, those Jackasses saw me on the way home that's all. What are you doing here?" Yoshiki said breathlessly, his ribs hurting but he hastily felt around and he didn't think they were broken.

"I was coming home from Naomi's. She called and asked if I would come over since she'd spent the day with her family so I took your advice and asked her out and she said yes. Then we watched movies at her house because her mom wanted her to stay in because she was worried about her." Satoshi replied, taking his keys out to unlock Yoshiki's door. Yoshiki gave him the key shortly after he moved into the apartment as Satoshi was the only person there for Yoshiki when he got kicked out.

"I told you she liked you." Yoshiki replied lightly, hobbling over to the sofa and gingerly setting himself down.

Satoshi looked around for a basin, which he filled with warm water, and a cloth to help clean Yoshiki up. He also brought some frozen peas from the freezer.

"So Yoshiki, how did your date go?" Satoshi asked him, trying to keep Yoshiki awake as he cleaned and Yoshiki looked a little dazed.

"It was great; did you know Shinozaki liked Marvel movies? It was awesome." Yoshiki replied tiredly, barely acknowledging the fact his best friend was cleaning him up.

"I didn't know, so will there be a second date?" Satoshi asked conversationally.

"I hope so, she's coming over tomorrow night, she has to stay home tonight because her grandma's coming early though." He replied, finally meeting Satoshi's eyes. "How bad is it?" He asked.

"It's not too bad right now, but your lip is swollen and you're gonna have one hell of a shiner tomorrow but at least your nose isn't broken. I mean that is a plus, all things considered." Satoshi answered, trying to keep the sarcasm light in his tone so it wouldn't betray his concern.

"Woo." Yoshiki deadpanned, waving his hands half-heartedly.

"How's your ribs?" Satoshi asked, holding the frozen peas to Yoshiki's eye as it seemed to need the most attention.

"I feel a bit breathless and they're sore but I don't think they're broken or anything." Yoshiki answered honestly, letting Satoshi feel his ribs and fuss over him. "Hey Satoshi." Yoshiki asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Satoshi answered focusing on his task.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't of been there." Yoshiki said honestly.

"Well what are friends for? Someone has to look out for your ass, might as well be me." Satoshi joked, applying a plaster to Yoshiki's face. "I don't think they're broken but I think you should go to the emergency room just in case." Satoshi explained, looking at Yoshiki sternly.

"I really don't want to though, I just sat down and that involves movement." Yoshiki groaned tiredly, knowing that Satoshi was right.

"Come on, you know I'm right. I'll order a taxi so we don't have to walk and you're staying at mine tonight, I don't care what you say." Satoshi said, while taking out his phone to order the taxi.

Yoshiki sighed. "Fine but I can't stay at yours." He replied, waiting for Satoshi to finish on the phone.

"Why can't you stay at mine?" Satoshi demanded when he had finished. Yoshiki looked up sheepishly, knowing that Satoshi would be pissed that he hadn't told him.

"Umm...well ever since the school, I haven't been able to sleep and when I do I get nightmares." Yoshiki explained, cringing when he saw the scowl on Satoshi's face. "I know! I was supposed to tell you but Shinozaki's been helping me and I've been helping her. Besides, you had enough on your plate; what with Naomi and Yuka struggling and I didn't want to put any more pressure on you." He said quickly, grunting when he stood up and pulled on a jacket.

"I understand but next time, tell me these things. At least then I'm not worrying over you guys, I'm not exactly having the time of my life at night either you know. So stay, we'll play some video games and forget all that crap. Oh and Yuka's staying in my bed at night, mom doesn't know so don't mention it. We share a room anyway but Yuka can't sleep on her own; I mean she will cry when anyone even mentions that she has to sleep alone. I don't know what to do; I'm just glad she feels better but I'm not sure if she'll ever be able to cope without me." Satoshi explained, anxiously brushing his hand through his hair.

"I promise next time I will, and she will, it'll just take some time. Come on I think I heard the taxi beeping and you know what they're like if they're kept waiting." Yoshiki said, patting Satoshi comfortingly on the shoulder as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so there we are. There will be more don't worry just not tonight (lol). Okay so I took all of the reviews and comments into account and I tried really hard to make sure everyone got something. Also, I thought it would be cute that they only mention each other's first name in front of each other. I'm so sorry about Yoshiki as well, this just got away with me :L. Oh and also sorry I'm of the mindset that one does not make out at the cinema (especially at a good movie, unlike some couples that noisily make out behind individuals like me during a 3D Silent Hill Revelations movie (NEVER FORGIVE) lol.) I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try and not leave it so long next time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy ^_^ Oh and I tried to read up a bit on the medical stuff but I know that some things are different in America than here so I'm sorry if it seems wrong.

Yoshiki walked into the Emergency Room with some help from Satoshi as he was finding it increasingly difficult to walk on his own. Satoshi helped him fill out the form and he stiffly sat himself down on a chair as he waited.

"So why did those jerks go after you anyway?" Satoshi asked, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he noticed Yoshiki lolling his head tiredly.

"It doesn't matter." Yoshiki slurred, not wanting Satoshi to worry.

"It does matter Yoshiki. Now tell me what happened before I got there." Satoshi told him sternly.

Yoshiki sighed. "Fine, they just wanted to teach me a lesson that's all." He slurred quickly.

"Teach you about what?" Satoshi said with an eye-roll at Yoshiki's stubbornness.

Yoshiki met Satoshi's eyes tiredly. "You know...about Yui-Sensei and the others." He replied sadly.

Satoshi's face dropped sadly, "I'm sorry Yoshiki." Satoshi said guiltily.

Yoshiki shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay, better me than you guys. Just don't tell Nakashima or Shinozaki, I know they'll probably see me tomorrow but I haven't seen Shinozaki smile like that in a while. Why worry her tonight when she has to spend all day with her family tomorrow." He slurred.

Before Satoshi could reply, a nurse called Yoshiki's name and Satoshi helped him stand and walk towards the nurse. When the nurse tried to make Satoshi stay in the waiting room, Yoshiki waved her off and said he wanted Satoshi to stay. Satoshi sat down in the chair beside Yoshiki's temporary bed as the Doctor came in to examine Yoshiki.

"Now Kishinuma, how are you feeling at the moment?" She asked, taking her small torch and examining Yoshiki's eyes.

"Tired, my head's sore." Yoshiki slurred to her.

"He also hurt his ribs." Satoshi explained worriedly.

"Okay, so what happened?" The Doctor asked Satoshi as Yoshiki was finding it difficult to concentrate.

"A few boys from our school jumped him on the way home. I was walking home and saw them and they ran off. He said he was having difficulty breathing and I checked his ribs but I'm not a doctor so I'm not sure, he's got a split lip and will most likely have a black eye tomorrow." Satoshi explained, eyeing Yoshiki's already blackening eye and worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

The Doctor nodded and began poking Yoshiki's ribs; Yoshiki taking sharp intakes of breaths whenever she touched a particularly sensitive spot.

"Well Kishinuma, lucky for you they're not broken, although you have managed to bruise them badly, I'll be prescribing some painkillers for those ribs. Applying an ice-pack later when you get home would be a good idea as well. As for your head, you have a mild concussion, it's not too serious but an ice-pack applied there later and some sleep will do the world of good." The doctor explained, more for Satoshi's benefit than Yoshiki's, who tiredly nodded.

She then turned to the nurse and asked for some antiseptic to treat Yoshiki's split lip, which she did with great care so Yoshiki wouldn't feel too much pain.

"Does he have someone to stay with?" The Doctor asked Satoshi.

"Yeah, I told him he was staying at mine." Satoshi replied.

"Good because someone needs to stay with him just in case the concussion gets any worse, it shouldn't, but just in case." The doctor explained kindly before she turned to Yoshiki.

"Lucky for you, you can go home. Try not to do anything too strenuous with those ribs; your friend here can pick up your medicine for you while I sign you out." The Doctor said, handing Satoshi the prescription with a smile and making sure the nurse went with him.

"Thanks Doctor," Yoshiki replied tiredly, grunting as he sat up.

"You're welcome, don't get up just yet. You need to wait for your friend to come help you out." The Doctor said with a smile.

Satoshi rushed over to help Yoshiki stand up. "Thanks Doctor." He said, helping Yoshiki walk out. "Come on Yoshiki, I called my mom to pick us up and she's waiting outside." He told Yoshiki as they stumbled out of the Hospital.

"Hello Yoshiki." Satoshi's mother, Miho, greeted worriedly as Satoshi helped him into the car.

"Hello Mrs Mochida." Yoshiki replied tiredly, grunting in pain as he sat down.

"Satoshi what happened?" Miho asked, starting the car and driving away from the hospital.

"Some scumbags from school got him mom. He has a mild concussion and bruised ribs, we need to keep an eye on him just in case but the doctor gave me these pain meds for him." Satoshi replied, pulling the box out from his pocket to examine it. "He'll need to take two when we get home, and also an ice-pack for his head and ribs, and then hopefully he'll get some sleep. The tablets are drowsy." He added, looking in the mirror to see Yoshiki looking off into the distance.

"I'll go into the school first thing on Monday morning, I don't care if he doesn't like it, if his own parents won't do it I will." Miho said sternly, she was always fiercely protective of Yoshiki as she was never used to seeing one boy without the other.

"Thanks mom, I know he'll probably be stubborn about it." Satoshi said worriedly.

Miho pulled into their driveway and turned off the car. She took the box of painkillers from Satoshi and walked into the house, wanting to get the pain medication into Yoshiki as quick as possible. Satoshi helped Yoshiki get out of the car and he followed Satoshi into his house by himself.

"ONII-CHAN!" Yuka shouted, rushing forward to hug Satoshi, accidentally shoving him back into an unsuspecting Yoshiki. Yoshiki hissed in pain, stumbling back and clutching his ribs.

"Crap Yoshiki, are you okay?" Satoshi turned worriedly.

"Yoshi-Nii." Yuka exclaimed worriedly.

"It's okay, I'm alright." Yoshiki said, straightening himself and smiling gently at Yuka, not wanting her to worry.

"Are you okay?"Yuka asked, stepping closer to look at his eye.

"I am Yuka, don't worry about me. You wanna watch a movie?" Yoshiki asked her, trying his hardest to focus and smiling with a confidence he didn't feel.

"Mmhmm." Yuka said, nodding cheerfully. She then dragged both Satoshi and Yoshiki by the hands into their room.

"Yoshiki, could you come here a moment." Miho shouted from the kitchen. Yoshiki dislodged himself from Yuka's grip and hobbled into the kitchen. "Here you are Yoshiki." Miho said, handing Yoshiki his pain medication and some water which he took, she then handed him two ice-packs, one for his ribs and the other for his head.

"Thank you Mrs Mochida. Goodnight." Yoshiki said softly before heading into Satoshi and Yuka's room. Satoshi used to have this room all to himself but ever since the incident, Yuka had moved in. Miho didn't know why but Yuka refused to sleep unless she was in the same room as her big brother and they had no choice but to let her because she would cry in utter despair if she wasn't.

When Yoshiki entered the room, he saw Satoshi turning on the DVD player and sticking on an Adventure Time DVD for Yuka. Yoshiki settled himself down on Yuka's bed as she was already snuggled into Satoshi's.

"How are you feeling now Yoshiki?" Satoshi asked him, sitting down in his bed and allowing Yuka to snuggle up to him.

"Well I just took the pain medication so I'm just waiting for that to kick in," Yoshiki stiffly took of his jacket and waist coat and settled the ice-pack on his ribs and head once he had lay down and got himself comfortable.

"I hope you feel better Yoshi-Nii." Yuka mumbled quietly from her spot beside Satoshi.

"Thanks Yuka, I will." Yoshiki replied with a sleepy smile.

"Are you guys hungry? I'm gonna go make some toast." Satoshi asked, feeling a little hungry now that things were winding down.

"Yes please Nii-chan." Yuka said, unintentionally giving him her puppy dog eyes.

"No thanks I'm not hungry." Yoshiki replied groggily. The medication was having an effect on him and he began to drift off.

"Alright, Yuka stay here and look after Yoshiki, I'll be right back, do you want some hot chocolate as well?" Satoshi asked in a hushed voice.

Yuka nodded enthusiastically, snuggling back down to watch Adventure Time and occasionally giving Yoshiki a worried glance.

Satoshi went into the kitchen to make Yuka and him some hot chocolate and toast. Miho walked in to make herself a cup of tea. "How is Yoshiki now?" His mother asked.

"He's good; I think he's sleeping now. I'm just making me and Yuka some supper before we go to sleep." Satoshi answered, spreading some Nutella on Yuka's slices.

"That's good, make sure to take the ice-packs off him before you go to sleep and put them back in the freezer. Oh and make sure Yuka goes to sleep after that." Miho said, gesturing at the toast and hot chocolate.

"I will." Satoshi promised.

Miho leaned over to give Satoshi a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight Satoshi, I love you." Miho said. She walked in to Satoshi and Yuka's room and gave Yuka and Yoshiki kisses on their foreheads. "You can stay in Satoshi's bed tonight." Miho said to Yuka, "Goodnight Yuka, I love you." She added as she ruffled Yoshiki's hair, dislodging the ice-pack and walking out of the room.

Satoshi came in with Yuka's toast and hot chocolate, leaving to bring in his own, they quickly settled down to eat while the DVD was still playing. When Yuka finished, she handed Satoshi her plate and cup, which he set down on the floor, and snuggled close to him. Yuka quickly fell asleep after that and when she had been asleep for a solid half hour, Satoshi gently moved away from her and brought their plates and cups out to the kitchen. He then came back in to take the ice-packs to the freezer and examined Yoshiki's eye.

Yoshiki's eye had gone completely black, with some purple tints and his lip had swollen a lot more than it was the day before and a purple/red gash was more prominent. Satoshi felt anger at the boys from his school; his best friend didn't do anything wrong and he knew Yoshiki would have preferred that he got hurt instead of his friends but he still didn't like it.

Satoshi sighed and settled back down beside Yuka, he couldn't sleep and he knew Naomi was struggling to sleep as well, so he took out his phone and began to text her.

Satoshi: Hey how are you feeling now? I'm sorry if I woke you. x

Naomi: You didn't, I can't sleep anyways. I'm feeling a little better but I wish I was staying at yours :/. How's Yuka? x

Satoshi: I wish you were here too :( Yuka's great, she's sleeping right now but she seemed to be in a great mood tonight. Yoshiki's staying the night as well, he's sleeping too. x

Naomi: Well that's great; at least she's starting to get better. Oh Kishinuma must be exhausted, have you noticed how tired he is at school? You should watch a really boring movie; it'll make you sleep in no time. :P x

Satoshi: Yeah I know, I'll just have to keep a better eye on him.. What do you suggest? :P x

Naomi: I don't know, maybe a documentary on fossils or something? :L x

Satoshi smirked at the phone and rapidly typed out his reply.

Satoshi: Yeah sure why not, hang on and I'll find the abundance of Fossil documentaries that just happens to reside in my house :P x

Naomi: Wow! The sarcasm is strong with this one. Well I'm watching a few documentaries on Netflix which feature the voice of David Attenborough which never fails to put me to sleep :P x

Satoshi: I know I'm so skilled in the art of sarcasm now. Hmm, that does not sound like a bad idea. I might give it a go. x

Naomi: Well, I feel like I could sleep tonight. Mom seems to be happier that I'm home, she likes you you know? She thinks you're a good influence on me :P x

Satoshi: That's good and I'm glad she likes me. I am, quite literally, the best :P x

Naomi: You are :$. Anyways, I'm really tired right now and I'm going to try and sleep for a bit. Try and listen to some David Attenborough he does send you right to sleep :P. Goodnight Satoshi :* x

Satoshi: Thanks :) You are too :$ Goodnight Naomi :* I will x

Satoshi flipped his phone shut and sighed contently. He really liked Naomi and was glad that she'd be getting some sleep tonight, even if only for a little while. He eased himself up again and went to put on his games console, he decided to play some Call of Duty just to pass the time as he wasn't feeling tired. As much as he tried, he was struggling with sleeping himself after everything that happened; knowing his friends were okay was the only thing that was really keeping him going.

A few hours of Call of Duty later and Satoshi could hear Yoshiki begin to struggle behind him. Yoshiki was seeing Mayu being taken out of the room by Tokiko and Yuki but before she was inevitably impaled, he was shaken awake.

When Yoshiki opened his eyes, he felt like he'd been hit by a truck and he let out a pained groan. He couldn't really open one eye properly and his head hurt something awful.

"Ugh...Why do I feel like I got hit by a bus?" He groaned, finally meeting Satoshi's worried eyes before the events from the night before hit him. "Oh." He added, groaning as he tried to sit up.

"I'll be right back okay? Just try not to move too much." Satoshi told him, rushing to the kitchen to get Yoshiki's painkillers and a glass of water.

"Thanks." Yoshiki said when Satoshi handed him the pills and the water.

"You're welcome, how's your head?" Satoshi asked him worriedly.

"I have a massive headache but it should go away soon, my everything hurts but I'll be fine." Yoshiki said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay good, do you wanna play a game since you're up?" Satoshi asked feeling a little relieved.

"Sure, I'll probably pass out again with these pain meds but I'll try my best." Yoshiki said, stiffly pushing himself to a sit a little straighter on the bed. Satoshi handed him the controller and they played a few games, Yoshiki's gameplay becoming worse and worse as the time went on and his tiredness began to take over.

"Do you wanna stop now? Here, I'll take the controller." Satoshi said as he saw Yoshiki struggling to keep awake.

"Thanks Satoshi." Yoshiki said tiredly, sliding himself down the bed a little easier since the pain relief kicked in.

"You're welcome. Get some sleep." Satoshi said, he started to feel tired himself and it was 4 in the morning so he took Naomi's advice and went on to Netflix. He put on some documentary and relaxed back into bed with Yuka, the soothing voice allowing him to nod off for a few hours.

"Nii-chan? Yoshi-Nii needs help." Yuka said, shaking Satoshi awake, when she had woken up she had noticed Yoshiki shaking in his sleep. Satoshi groggily stood up and gently shook Yoshiki's shoulder.

"Yoshiki? Wake up." Satoshi said.

Yoshiki sat up sharply with a gasp, and then groaned as he clutched his stomach; the pain in his ribs hurting him.

"Yoshi-Nii? Are you okay?" Yuka asked worriedly as she moved closer to look at his face.

"Yeah Yuka, I'm okay. Promise." He said to her with a pained smile. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom." He added as he struggled to stand and hobbled away.

"Yoshi-Nii seems really hurt ONii-Chan." Yuka said to Satoshi, biting her lip worriedly; a habit she picked up from Satoshi.

"He'll be okay Yuka, let's go get breakfast." Satoshi said, ruffling her hair.

Yoshiki looked at himself in the mirror, examining his eye and lip. He looked awful and he knew that no amount of make-up or scarves or anything would be able to cover it up. He sighed and brushed his teeth carefully, he had his own toothbrush there as he had stayed there so often.

Yoshiki heard his phone buzz in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out to answer it.

"Hey Yoshiki, are you okay? You didn't text me back." Ayumi said worriedly, Yoshiki always texted her back so she was just a bit worried.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm sorry I stayed at Satoshi's last night and I fell asleep." He told her, he wasn't lying about staying at Satoshi's.

"Well I hope you had fun at Mochida-Kun's, are you sure you're okay though?" Ayumi asked, unable to hide the suspicion and concern in her voice.

"I'll be okay." He said, trying not to lie because he knew it would be worse later when she saw him. "I'm just feeling a little off, you're still coming over tonight though right?" Yoshiki added hopefully.

"Of course, Grandma should be leaving around 5-ish so I will be over around half 5, 6 o'clock." Ayumi replied cheerfully.

"That's great, I'll see you then." Yoshiki said, cringing and trying to hold in a grunt of pain.

"I'll see you later. Love you, bye." Ayumi said quickly.

"I love you too bye." Yoshiki replied before she could hang up.

He put his phone back into his pocket and limped into the kitchen. Satoshi's father Hiro was sitting at the table and dropped his paper in shock.

"Yoshiki? Miho said you had been hurt but I didn't think it was quite this bad. Are you okay?" Hiro asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, a little sore but fine." Yoshiki replied with a smile. He felt a little sad because Satoshi's family adored Yoshiki and acted like a real family should and he wished his own was like that.

"I hope you know I'm going into the school tomorrow morning Yoshiki." Miho told him sternly, silencing him with a look when he began to protest.

"I should hope so; those boys can't get away with this." Hiro said, giving Yoshiki another concerned look.

"Thank you." Yoshiki said, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"You're welcome." Miho said kindly, kissing him on the head. He closed his eyes when she carefully hugged him, missing his own mother's hugs and Miho set a bowl of cereal down in front of him. Satoshi sat beside him and Yuka was on Satoshi's other side, never too far away from her brother when they were at home.

"Shinozaki said she's coming over at half 5, 6-ish so I'll probably head home around 5." Yoshiki told Satoshi, who nodded worriedly.

"I'll walk you home; I'm not letting you walk home on your own." Satoshi told him around a bite of cereal.

"I will too Yoshi-Nii." Yuka chimed in with her puppy eyes.

"Okay, how could I say no to you?" Yoshiki asked Yuka with a grin, making her smile brightly.

They finished their breakfast and Satoshi and Yoshiki played video games for a few more hours as Yoshiki didn't want to take more pain meds, he didn't like how they made him sleepy so he made a mental note to get some non-drowsy painkillers at the shop. Satoshi stopped playing when they heard a knock at the door and he rushed to answer it.

Yoshiki internally panicked when he heard Naomi's voice, he looked around to find something to hide himself with but sighed in defeat when he found nothing.

Naomi gasped when she walked in and saw his face. "Kishinuma-Kun! What happened? Are you okay?" She asked quickly before sternly turning a glare towards Satoshi. "Why didn't you tell me?" Naomi demanded worriedly.

"I told him not to, Nakashima. I'm okay, I just didn't want Shinozaki to know...well until later at least when she comes over." Yoshiki explained, Satoshi threw him a grateful look over Naomi's shoulder.

Before Naomi could say anything else, Yuka came running in and gave her a hug. "Naomi." She said cheerfully.

"Hello Yuka, how are you today?" Naomi asked, hugging Yuka back tightly.

"I'm doing well, we're walking Yoshi-Nii home soon, do you want to come too?" Yuka asked cheerfully.

"Sure, I don't mind the walk." Naomi answered with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry for keeping that from you." Satoshi told Naomi guiltily.

"It's okay, I was just worried." Naomi said to him.

Yoshiki grimaced as he reached for his waistcoat and jacket, he tried to put them on without showing the girls he was in pain but his hand slipped on jacket and he managed to pull on his ribs when he reached for it, wincing and letting out a large groan.

"Crap." He said breathlessly, allowing Satoshi to grab his jacket and help him put it on.

"You should be more careful." Satoshi said worriedly.

When his jacket was on, Yuka went over and gingerly hugged him, afraid of hurting him. "Yoshi-Nii, I'm sorry you got hurt." She told him sadly.

He hugged her back gently, "it's not your fault Yuka." He told her softly.

"Let's go, are you sure you can walk?" Satoshi asked, eyeing Yoshiki dubiously.

"Yeah I can, barely, but I can." Yoshiki replied, smirking slightly.

They left the Mochida residence, Yoshiki thanking Satoshi's parents on his way out and they headed to his apartment. Yoshiki was walking slowly but managing well on his own and Yuka stayed beside her brother timidly, being a lot more confident at home than outside.

When Satoshi opened Yoshiki's door, Naomi and Yuka gasped at the blood drips on the floor, which dripped in a trail to the sofa. Thankfully, Yoshiki had laminated flooring so the blood would come off with a mop easily. The basin filled with pink water and a wash cloth was still on his coffee table and Satoshi picked it up to empty it in the bathroom.

"Make yourselves at home." Yoshiki said, walking into the kitchen and wincing as he lifted the kettle to fill it.

"Oh no, go sit down, I'll make it." Satoshi said when he came in.

"No I can do it, I'm gonna have to do it when you go anyway." Yoshiki replied stubbornly, which Satoshi knew was just the pain talking so he dismissed it.

"Fine but remember what the doctor said, 'you're not to be doing anything strenuous.'" Satoshi said, watching over Yoshiki to make sure he didn't overdo it or drop anything.

"I won't," Yoshiki agreed, struggling to make the tea but being able to do a good job all the same.

Satoshi picked up the girls cups and brought them in and quickly came back for his and Yoshiki's, Yoshiki sighed and rolled his eyes fondly before limping off after him and sitting down on his chair.

"Thanks for the tea." Naomi said gratefully as she took a sip.

"Thank you Yoshi-Nii." Yuka chimed in quietly.

"You're welcome." He replied, sitting back with his own tea that he gratefully accepted from Satoshi.

"I'm going to clean that floor before Shinozaki comes over." Satoshi said, going to get the mop from the cupboard.

"I can do it." Yoshiki said, taking another sip of tea and then struggling to sit up.

"No just let me do this, it'll take me 5 minutes it'll take you 10 years." Satoshi said stubbornly, he caught Yoshiki's eye then and they both let out a chuckle.

"Oh don't make me laugh; it hurts." Yoshiki said grimacing and trying to hold in his laugh.

Satoshi made quick work of the floor, emptied the mop bucket and put everything back where he found it. After admiring his handiwork, he sat down on the sofa between the two girls in his life and took a triumphant sip of his tea, relaxing back into the sofa.

"The closer it gets to the time she's coming over, the more I dread it. Think of Nakashima's reaction to you not telling her I got hi...hurt and imagine what her reaction would have been if you had got hurt and not told her." Yoshiki said anxiously.

"I think I'd be furious." Naomi said, then winced when she saw Yoshiki's expression, "sorry." She added.

"It's going to be okay Yoshiki, you know she'll just be worried." Satoshi said, trying to make him feel better.

"Thanks. Hopefully it won't be too bad." Yoshiki said. He tried to keep himself calm, even when the others finished their tea and stood up to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow guys." Yoshiki said, waving them off as they left.

"If anything happens. Anything. You call me okay?" Satoshi said, looking at him sternly.

"You will be the first." Yoshiki replied with a smile.

"Feel better Yoshi-Nii." Yuka mumbled shyly.

"I will. See you tomorrow." He said, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Bye." Naomi said as she waved.

Yoshiki sighed when he closed the door and walked towards the sofa and stiffly allowed himself to lie down for a few moments. He turned on the TV, trying to relax before Ayumi's arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I am sorry to end things there. I am sorry if this chapter was a little smeh but I am sleepily writing it anyway. I hope you enjoyed :3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god you guys! I am so damn sorry. So Uni was a lot of stress and I thought I had this chapter finished and was already up but nope so I'm sorry :S I know I was working on some other things because I lost some steam when I was writing this but I hope you enjoy this and forgive me!

Yoshiki froze when he heard the knock at the door. He slowly sat himself up, holding in a grunt as he felt the pull on his ribs.

"I'll be there in a sec." He called, pulling on a hoody and pulling the hood over his head, trying to keep it as low as possible before heading to the door and opening it.

"Hey Yoshiki...What are you doing?" Ayumi asked, puzzled by his actions as she passed him and set her bag down.

"Don't get mad... I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry while you were with your family." Yoshiki said quickly, turning to her once he closed the door.

"Why would I be ma-"Ayumi let out a shocked gasp as Yoshiki pulled back his hood. "What the hell happened?" Ayumi exclaimed, rushing towards him to look at his face.

"After I left yours..." Yoshiki let out a sigh, closing his eyes as she stroked his face gently. "A few guys from our class saw me and they decided to teach me a lesson. Satoshi managed to show up before they could do any real damage." He added guiltily.

"Any real damage? Yoshiki your eye is completely black and your lip is swollen and bruised, a lot more than it was yesterday anyway." Ayumi said incredulously. "Why didn't you tell me? You know what? That's not even my first question; names? I want names, now." She added demandingly, giving him a look. Yoshiki sighed again, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

"Yoshiyuki, Takashi, Hikaru and Ren. And I didn't tell you because you were in a great mood last night and if you knew I was at the hospital, you'd only worry about me more and you had to help your mom out." Yoshiki mumbled quickly.

"You were at the hospital?" Ayumi asked with a worried look.

"Yeah...I had a minor concussion and bruised ribs; they're not broken so that's a plus." Yoshiki said with a hopeful smile which fell at her look.

"Don't do that again. I don't care what mood I'm in or whatever, you tell me things like this otherwise I'm always going to worry that something's going to happen and I would just have to wait until the next time I seen you to know what it is. Please promise me you'll tell me next time." Ayumi pleaded with him honestly, she really wanted him to be upfront with her.

"I will I promise." He agreed, nodding quickly at her, cringing a little as it upset his already sore head. "I'm really sorry Ayumi." He added guiltily.

"I understand why you did it so it's okay. I just won't be so forgiving next time, but since you're injured, I can't stay mad." She replied with a smile, moving forward to hug him gingerly.

"Thank you, do you want some tea or anything?" He asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Okay." She answered, letting him go. She gave him a concerned look and watched over him warily when she noticed him limping off to the kitchen. "Yoshiki I can make it if you want." She murmured worriedly

"Nah it's okay, I can do it." He said with a reassuring smile. He reached over for kettle, suppressing the pain as much as he could, and made them both tea, he handed Ayumi her cup and took his own, carefully walking into the living room with it.

"I'm so angry at those jerks; I will be reporting them to the principal." Ayumi said angrily.

"Satoshi's mom said she's going in tomorrow as well. I'd rather not say anything to be honest." Yoshiki said, looking down at his cup.

"You know you're going to have to make a fuss or nothing will change and they'll do it again." Ayumi told him, her voice sounding too worried to be angry.

"I know but they were just being assholes, you know I don't talk to anyone in the class but you guys anyway so I'd rather just ignore the problem until it goes away." Yoshiki explained quickly.

"And I've told you before, it doesn't work like that. Why did they even want to teach you a lesson? I'm pretty sure you haven't even spoken to them this week." Ayumi asked curiously.

Yoshiki hesitated, she was right, he hadn't spoken to them at all since the incident, he had talked to a few of his other classmates but he hadn't talked to those boys. He also really didn't want to tell Ayumi why they felt the need to teach him a lesson but at her "no bullshit" look, he faltered.

"They um...well they..." He said dumbly, totally blaming the concussion and not his own awkwardness. "Ever since the incident...we've all been acting differently. For obvious reasons of course, and they...didn't like it I guess." He added, looking away sadly.

"What?" Ayumi asked quietly, Yoshiki met her shocked gaze.

"Hey it's okay. It's better this way; at least it was me and not one of you guys you know?" Yoshiki reassured her quickly.

"It is not! You should never have gotten hurt in the first place. We didn't do anything wrong and just because they have no idea what we've been through doesn't give them the right to take it out on you." Ayumi explained with a frustrated look.

"I know Ayumi. None of this is fair but I'm just saying that I'm glad it was me they took it out on and it wasn't you, or Satoshi or Nakashima." Yoshiki replied determinedly.

Ayumi deflated. "Yeah okay but I'm just worried, what if this happens again and you get hurt even worse?" She asked anxiously.

Yoshiki smiled at her shyly and stroked her face lovingly. "Then I'll deal with it okay? Look I love you and everything will be okay." Yoshiki told her, kissing her gently so he wouldn't hurt his lip.

"I love you too Yoshiki." Ayumi said softly. She took Yoshiki's cup from him and set both cups on the table before leaning over to hug him as tight as she could without hurting him.

Ayumi pulled away quickly when Yoshiki winced in pain. "I'm sorry; did you take any pain medication?" Ayumi asked with a concerned look.

"I took some last night and they put me to sleep; that's why I didn't answer any of your texts. I didn't want to take anymore because I wasn't exactly having any good dreams and I was afraid of scaring Yuka." He replied honestly.

"I think you should take some now, I don't care if they put you to sleep, I'm staying here tonight anyway and I can look after you." Ayumi said with a shy smile.

"I'm okay really; I'll have to make something to eat anyway. I'll take them later, I promise. The pain's bad but it's not unbearable or anything." Yoshiki answered giving Ayumi a reassuring smile.

Yoshiki quickly pushed himself up from the sofa with a groan, he stood there dazed for a moment as the room started to spin, he stumbled backwards and promptly fell back down onto the sofa. "Are you okay?" Ayumi quickly asked, hovering over him worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine, just...stood up too quickly." He answered breathlessly, slowly gearing himself up to push himself back up.

"Nope." Ayumi said, pushing at his shoulders gently. "I'm cooking, you are staying right here." Ayumi added sternly.

"But-" Yoshiki tried to protest.

"No buts! You are going to push yourself too hard and fall over and hurt yourself even more. I think a gentle breeze could push you over right now." Ayumi said in a stern voice before giggling at his incredulous look.

"A breeze?" Yoshiki deadpanned "Really? A breeze?" he smiled, chuckling a little himself when she let out another sheepish giggle.

"Okay maybe not a gentle breeze but you could still fall over you know." Ayumi said with a smirk.

Yoshiki sighed slightly. "Yeah I know but I'd feel bad letting you do everything." Yoshiki replied honestly, he was used to doing everything for himself since he had had to deal with that when his father disowned him.

"Let me do this, even if it's just for tonight. I'm going to make us dinner and you are going to sit here and relax okay?" Ayumi said. "And when we're done, you're taking those tablets." She added, giving Yoshiki her best puppy eyes; which were totally unfair by the way, they would put Yuka's to shame.

"Alright." Yoshiki agreed dumbly at her look. "I'm just going to get changed." He said, getting up slowly to head into his room.

"Okay." Ayumi said with a triumphant grin before heading into the kitchen to make some pasta and chicken, which was a simple dish but it was also something Yoshiki seemed to really enjoy.

Yoshiki took off his jacket, waistcoat and shirt gingerly and inspected himself in the mirror.

"Holy shit." He said quietly when he saw his abdomen covered in red and purple splotches. He looked at himself a little while longer before grabbing a t-shirt and his pyjama bottoms to put them on.

"Dinner will be ready in around 10 to 15 minutes." Ayumi told him when he passed, dragging his blankets and pillows with him.

"Okay, thank you." Yoshiki said, setting his supplies on the sofa so they could be comfy when they sat down. Yoshiki tentatively lay himself down on the sofa and tried to leave enough room for Ayumi to comfortably sit down before turning on the TV.

"Would you like an ice-pack or something?" Ayumi asked him worriedly when she walked back in to check on him.

"No it's okay; I used two last night when I was sleeping anyway. Thanks though." Yoshiki told her affectionately.

"Well if you're sure." Ayumi told him with a concerned face. She walked back into the kitchen and cooked the rest of their meal, putting them both into bowls; she brought them both into the living room and set them down on the table.

Yoshiki sat up slowly, holding in a grunt of pain and gave her a pained smile. "Thanks Ayumi." He said, Ayumi just smiled worriedly and handed his bowl and some chopsticks over to him.

"Itadakimasu." Yoshiki and Ayumi said as they tucked into their meal, Yoshiki smiled happily at her as the food was amazing and Ayumi smiled cheerfully back.

When they had finished, Ayumi took the bowls into the kitchen and took the box of painkillers Satoshi had left in the kitchen and brought them in with a glass of water.

"Here, take these and lie down." Ayumi told him with a kind smile.

"Thanks Ayumi." He told her, he did what he was told and lay down, leaving her enough room to snuggle in with him without causing too much pain.

"It's okay; I just want to take care of you." Ayumi whispered quietly as she got comfortable.

"That makes me happy." He told her groggily as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, she had her back to him so she could watch TV or get up if she needed too.

Ayumi smiled contentedly and watched the movie that was on TV as Yoshiki's breathing started evening out, she carefully lifted her phone out of her pocket as it began to vibrate.

'Hey, how is Yoshiki doing? :S.' Satoshi texted her.

'He's doing okay, I made him dinner and gave him his pain medication so he's sleeping atm :).' She texted back.

'That's good, he needs the sleep whether he likes it or not.' Satoshi replied.

'I know, I heard your mother will be going into the school tomorrow?' Ayumi asked.

'Yeah, she wants to go in and report them to the principal. He's not gonna like it but if he doesn't do something they'll do it again.' The text read. Ayumi turned her head slightly to look at Yoshiki's face, the bruising on his face was horrible and both his eye and lip were swollen.

'He's just going to have to deal with it.' Ayumi replied as she sighed worriedly. She set her phone down and closed her eyes as she was exhausted, she snuggled into Yoshiki as carefully as she could and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! :3 I'll fix any mistakes as I read it over time and I'll be adding more to this when I can :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yosh! Exams are over and I am officially free for the next 2 weeks XD so Imma try and start working on this some more :3

When Yoshiki woke up it was dark outside, Ayumi was sleeping soundly in his arms and although he was in pain, he didn't have the heart to wake her. He grit his teeth and decided to power through it as he watched her sleeping peacefully, in the middle of the night she had managed to turn to face him and her face showed no signs of nightmares. Yoshiki was glad that she was at least having a nightmare free night as he knew she wasn't getting any sleep at home and her presence helped him sleep too.

He slowly lifted his arm and stroked her face gently, he felt so content there despite the pain that he felt, he knew it was time for his painkillers but the thought of getting up and possibly causing her to wake up annoyed him.

Ayumi stirred a little, causing Yoshiki to freeze with his hand hovering above her face. Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled lovingly at him.

"How are you feeling Yoshiki?" Ayumi asked sleepily.

Yoshiki smiled and resumed stroking her face, "I'm okay, a little sore but I'll be fine. You should go back to sleep." He told her quietly.

"No I should get you your pain medication." Ayumi said worriedly, rolling over to get up.

"No you don't have to, I'll be fine." Yoshiki told her quickly but it was too late as Ayumi was quickly walking off to get him a glass of water for his painkillers.

"I said I wanted to look after you and I meant it." Ayumi told him with a gentle smile, she handed him the pain meds and the glass after he stiffly sat up and he took them quickly.

"Thank you Ayumi." He said shyly, not used to someone taking care of him. "For everything." He added quietly.

"You're welcome." She answered in a kind voice, closing her eyes as she smiled happily. "Do you need anything else? Would you like something to eat?" She asked.

"Nah I'm good, do you want to go to bed?" He asked her, lying on a cramped sofa wasn't doing either of them any favours and it was better that he got up and went to bed now before the pain meds kicked in. He only really slept on the sofa these days as he normally would watch television before falling asleep anyway.

"Sure, I'll just take these." Ayumi said as she picked up his pillows and blanket and headed towards his bedroom. Yoshiki slowly stood up and followed her into his bedroom, Ayumi was setting up the blankets and pillows and climbed into bed before he went to the other side and joined her.

"Oh my god this is so much more comfortable than the couch." Yoshiki said in a relieved voice, causing Ayumi to giggle, she turned and snuggled into his side and he put his arm around her. "Are you comfortable?" He asked her worriedly.

"Yeah," Ayumi answered with a smile. "I really do not want to go to school tomorrow, Matsuda-Sensei's going to gloat at me for doing that Detention." Ayumi whispered anxiously.

"Hey, it'll be okay; you can't let him get to you like that because you know he's going to take advantage and start doing it more." Yoshiki told her reassuringly. "Besides, I think he'll be a little too distracted with me anyway." He added almost almost bitterly.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the day off?" Ayumi asked with a worried look.

"Nah, as Satoshi said before, anyone else but me can do things, I think he has some sort of personal vendetta against me, besides I don't like leaving you guys to deal with school alone...especially when those jerks are gonna be there." Yoshiki replied with a determined look.

"But...What if they try to do something to hurt you again?" Ayumi said worriedly, her bottom lip wobbling and unintentionally throwing her best hurt puppy expression causing Yoshiki's insides to melt.

"Hey, I promise that if something does happen, it'll turn out okay. Don't worry about me; I'll try my best not to do anything stupid okay?" Yoshiki promised her with a reassuring smile.

"Okay." Ayumi replied with a small smile, feeling happier with his reassurance. "If the pain gets too bad you need to go to the nurse, promise?" Ayumi added.

"I promise." He told her, turning to lie on his side, feeling groggy now that the pain medication was beginning to take effect. "I love you Ayumi." He added sleepily as he pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too Yoshiki." She replied happily, snuggling closer to him as she allowed his even breathing lull her to sleep.

Ayumi woke up with a start as her phone began buzzing, signalling her alarm. She quickly put it on snooze and turned to look at Yoshiki. He had a slight content smile on his face as he slept all snuggled up to her with his arms around her, holding her tightly. She sighed sadly as she took in the bruising on his face, which seemed to look a lot more prominent than they did yesterday. Reaching over, she gently shook his shoulder to wake him.

"Yoshiki, it's time to get up for school." She said gently.

Yoshiki opened his eyes slowly. "What time is it?" He asked her groggily.

Ayumi checked her phone, "it's 7, do you want some breakfast?" She asked him.

"Nah it's okay, I'll just grab some cereal before I go, I'm gonna try and take a shower now though." He told her as he slowly sat up after reluctantly disentangling himself from her.

"Okay just be careful not to hurt yourself." She told him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"I will." He promised as he slowly climbed out of bed and hobbled to the bathroom.

Ayumi sighed as she flopped back onto the bed, she rubbed her eyes tiredly before getting out of bed and walking towards the kitchen to get herself some cereal and boiling the kettle for her and Yoshiki to have tea when he got out of the shower.

Yoshiki looked at himself in the mirror with a sigh, every bruise he had seemed to have gone a shade darker, he shook his head from his gloomy thoughts and headed into the shower. It felt nice to have hot water on his wounds as it soothed his sore muscles, after a while the steam started to go to his head and he turned off the shower worriedly as the room began to spin. He held onto the shower door as he wrapped a towel around himself and tried to breathe evenly as he started feeling a bit faint.

He slowly walked towards the sink and threw some cold water on his face, which seemed to help, before carefully drying himself off and changing into his uniform. He walked into the kitchen to grab himself a bowl of cereal before joining Ayumi in the living room.

"Do you feel well enough to go to school?" Ayumi asked him with a worried smile.

"Yeah I'm good." Yoshiki told her tiredly before eating his cereal slowly.

Ayumi just nodded as she watched over him warily, she knew how stubborn he could be, she decided she would keep a very close eye on him all day and hope that nothing serious was wrong with him.

When they were finished their breakfast, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it."Ayumi said as she quickly ran to the door before Yoshiki could get up.

"Hey Shinozaki, is Yoshiki in?" Satoshi said cheerfully, Yuka was peeking out from behind Satoshi's back.

"Hello Mochida-Kun, Yuka-Chan, yeah he's here." Ayumi said with a happy smile before moving to let them in.

"Yoshi-Nii! Are you feeling better now?" Yuka asked him worriedly.

"Hey Yuka, yeah I'm doing much better." Yoshiki told her with a grin.

"Mom wanted to pick us all up and drive us to school because she's going straight to the Principal's office when we get there." Satoshi explained to Yoshiki, who sighed tiredly.

"Satoshi you know this could just make it worse? The school's not going to be able to stop them if they really wanted to and they're gonna be really angry we told on them." Yoshiki explained, and then smiled reassuringly at Yuka when she looked at him anxiously.

"Did someone hurt you Yoshi-Nii? I thought you just had an accident." Yuka asked worriedly as she gave him her most effective puppy eyes.

"Uh...uhh...No Yuka, nobody hurt me, I...just fell down some stairs, I can be very clumsy sometimes." He tried to tell her, his head wasn't working well today but he was determined to go to school as he wanted to make sure his friends were safe.

"Oh okay, I'm sorry you're clumsy. Yuka can be clumsy sometimes too." Yuka said awkwardly, feeling a lot better as she was worried that someone had hurt Yoshiki.

Satoshi and Yoshiki exchanged knowing looks of relief. "Should we go? We don't want to be late." Ayumi said as she worriedly checked the time and picked up her bag.

Satoshi nodded and walked out with Yuka following closely behind, Yoshiki picked up his schoolbag stiffly, walking towards the door before feeling dizzy again.

"Are you sure you're okay Yoshiki?" Ayumi asked him worriedly.

Yoshiki took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, I just feel really tired, I should be okay though, don't worry. I just need to take it one step at a time and get through this day." He told her with a comforting smile.

"Remember you promised to go to the nurse if it gets too bad." Ayumi reminded him anxiously.

"I know." He said, before leaning over to kiss her softly. "Don't worry, if I get too bad I'll tell you." He said quietly. Ayumi smiled and nodded before following Yoshiki out to Miho's car.

"Good morning Yoshiki, good morning Shinozaki-San." Miho said when they got in the car. "How are you feeling Yoshiki?"

"Good morning Mrs Mochida." They said together. "I'm feeling a lot better." Yoshiki told her. Satoshi didn't miss the way Ayumi was throwing worried glances at Yoshiki and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his best friend.

"That's good, I hope you know that I'm heading straight to the principal after I drop Yuka off, I don't care if you don't like it." Miho said matter-of-factly.

"I know, Satoshi told me. I may not like it but everyone seems to think it's the right thing to do." Yoshiki answered honestly.

"It is." Satoshi told him with a stubborn look, he was worried about his best friend and he was worried about what would happen if those boys were at school today.

Miho stopped the car outside Yuka's school and Yuka looked at her brother nervously. "It's okay Yuka, I'll be right here when you get out of school okay?" Satoshi told her reassuringly.

Yuka perked up with a smile. "Will Yoshi-Nii and Ayumi be here too?" Yuka asked.

"Of course." Ayumi said cheerfully.

"Sure Yuka, we'll all walk home together." Yoshiki told her with a reassuring smile.

Yuka smiled happily before heading towards her friend who was waiting for her at the gate.

Miho watched Yuka worriedly as she walked into school with her friend before sighing and driving the car towards Kisaragi Academy, Yoshiki let out a quiet sigh as a feeling of dread came over him the closer they got to the school.

"Yoshiki, I want you to come with me to the principal's office while I report this and you two need to go on to class okay?" Miho addressed them when she parked the car.

"Are you sure that's a good thing? I mean Matsuda-Sensei hates me and I wouldn't be surprised if he gave me detention for being late." Yoshiki asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Satoshi told me all about him but the principal will be able to verify that you were with me." Miho said angrily, she didn't like that this teacher was treating his students badly.

"I'll see you later Yoshiki." Ayumi said with a concerned glance as she and Satoshi waved him goodbye.

"Make sure to come straight to class after the principal's office, I don't want those jerks making a chance encounter with you without some backup." Satoshi told his friend worriedly before turning with Ayumi and heading straight to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed, working on the next one now so don't worry my updates will be a lot quicker now :3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter phew! Hope you enjoy :3

"Oh Yoshiki I almost forgot, I brought you some non-drowsy painkillers so that you won't be in pain while you're in class." Miho said, pulling out a bottle of water and some paracetamol and handing them to him.

"Thank you Mrs Mochida." Yoshiki said gratefully as he took them. He was in a lot of pain but was willing to just power through it but he was grateful that Miho cared about him so much.

"You're welcome; I knew you probably wouldn't have been able to take your other medication if you were going to class so I made sure to bring some with me." Miho said with a smile before getting out of the car, giving Yoshiki a worried look as he gritted his teeth when he was getting out of the car as well.

They entered the school and headed towards the Principal's office before knocking on the door and entering when they heard him say come in.

"Hello! Oh Kishinuma, what happened to you?" The Principal said with wide eyes.

"That is why we are here Sir; I am Mochida Miho, Satoshi's mother. Yoshiki is a classmate of Satoshi but as his parents are not in the picture, I have taken it upon myself to report this. Four boys from his class attacked him when he was walking home on Saturday night." Miho informed him, not giving Yoshiki the chance to say anything.

"Oh this is terrible. Mrs Mochida, rest assured that these boys will be punished, however, as the incident didn't take place on School grounds and during school hours, there's not a lot we can do. We can give the boys detentions, even suspend them but as far as more severe punishment, I am afraid we are at a loss. I wish it could be different but that's the school's policy." The Principal replied and his expression showed deep regret in his features; he really did care about the students of the school.

"I understand, as long as these boys don't get away with what they did. I believe their parents should be informed as well; I just don't want them to have the idea that they can do this again." Miho said politely, even though she was feeling angry.

"Of course, Kishinuma, give me the names of the four individuals and I will ensure that their parents are informed and that they receive punishments." The Principal said reassuringly, looking at Yoshiki questioningly.

Yoshiki hesitated for a moment before faltering at the yearning look from Miho. "Aki Yoshiyuki, Fujita Takashi, Hara Ren and Ide Hikaru." Yoshiki said reluctantly.

"Don't be worried Kishinuma, we shall make sure that we do everything we can to ensure this doesn't happen again." The Principal told him with a kind smile.

Yoshiki nodded gratefully. "Thank you so much Sir." Miho said as she stood up and Yoshiki began following behind.

"Go straight to class now Yoshiki, if anything happens call me immediately alright?" Miho told him with a stern look but her tone betrayed her concern.

"I will." He promised. She nodded approvingly and kissed him on the forehead, "see you later." She told him before walking out of the school.

Yoshiki smiled gratefully, he turned and quickly made his way to the classroom, he slowed down just as he got to the corridor and felt that same feeling of dread flow through him. He swallowed his fear and headed towards the class and knocked before entering.

"You're la-! Kishinuma what happened to you?" Matsuda-Sensei said in shock.

"Sorry Sensei, I was at the Principal's office." He said quietly as he quickly went to his seat, feeling like everyone was staring at him.

"Well then, I'll let you off the hook this time..." Matsuda-Sensei said, before turning fully towards him with a smirk. "Let me guess Kishinuma, could you not control your delinquent urges?" He jeered.

Yoshiki looked at his teacher with a shocked expression as a few of his other classmates began snickering.

"Well? Out with it, what did you do to deserve a good beating? I'm sure your parents are delighted to have an offensive child like you out of their home, no need to besmirch their good name with the likes of you." He said nastily, looking at Yoshiki expectantly.

Yoshiki looked around the room nervously as he noticed everyone staring, Ayumi and Satoshi were looking at him anxiously, while Yoshiyuki, Takashi, Hikaru and Ren were smirking at him.

"Heh...Yeah Sensei, I'm sure they're glad not to have a good for nothing son like me around." Yoshiki said with a confidence he didn't feel, "I actually didn't do anything this time though I'm sure I deserved it." Yoshiki added, trying to play along so the teacher would move on with the class, he could see Ayumi biting her lip as she tried not to cry and Satoshi's face had turned to anger.

"That's right! Well just don't disturb my class for the rest of today or I shall give you detention." He replied with a nod as he turned back to the blackboard and continued on with the lesson. Yoshiki pointedly didn't look at anyone as he pulled out his books, feeling dizzy as he tried hard to concentrate on the words Matsuda-Sensei was writing on the board.

Before the break, the Principal arrived and entered the classroom; Matsuda-Sensei straightened up nervously and turned to greet him. "Ah good morning Principal Igarashi." He said politely.

"Good morning Matsuda-Sensei, I'm afraid I must interrupt your class and take four of your students." The Principal said determinedly.

"O-Okay, may I ask why?" He asked curiously.

"You may but I'm afraid I cannot tell you until the matter is settled." Principal Igarashi replied before turning to the class. "Can Aki Yoshiyuki, Fujita Takashi, Hara Ren and Ide Hikaru come with me please?" He asked sternly.

Yoshiki sank down in his seat and pointedly didn't look at them as they stood up and he could feel their glares pointed towards him as they left.

"Well since it's time for break, you can all leave." The teacher informed them before leaving the room. Yoshiki pushed himself up slowly, the room was spinning slightly but thanks to the pain medication that Miho had provided, he didn't feel any pain.

"Yoshiki, are you okay? I'm sorry Sensei was so horrible to you." Ayumi said as soon as she had rushed over to help him stand.

"Yeah I'm fine, it's okay at least now he can't say anything more about it." Yoshiki told her reassuringly. Yoshiki breathed in and out slowly as the room stopped spinning and he looked over at Satoshi who was giving him a concerned look.

"Hey don't look at me like that, I'm not dying." Yoshiki told him, trying to cheer him up.

"I know that, I'm so angry that he talked to you like that, I understand why you didn't say anything to defend yourself I'm just...so pissed off that he's being like this." Satoshi said in frustration.

"I think someone needs to report him." Ayumi whispered so that the other students wouldn't hear her.

"Nah, it'll only make things worse if they can't do anything and you know he'll just know it was us. Where's Nakashima anyway?" Yoshiki replied trying to change the subject.

Satoshi looked down sadly. "She's not doing so well today, her mom called me to let me know that she's staring off into space whispering about Seiko. I mean I know she does that sometimes but it doesn't mean I don't worry, I think she had a bad nightmare last night or something so she can be like this for a day or two after one." Satoshi explained anxiously.

"She'll come around, it'll just take some time don't worry." Yoshiki told his friend sadly.

"I know, I just hate that I can't do anything to help her when she's like this, her mom gets so freaked out about it and stops me from seeing her because she thinks Naomi needs therapy." Satoshi replied.

"Maybe you should explain to her mom that Naomi needs you sometimes to pull her out? It's the only way to soothe her worry." Ayumi suggested worriedly.

"Do you think that would work? I suppose there's no harm in trying I guess, I could always take Yuka with me and have her work her magic; no one can resist those puppy eyes." Satoshi said with a small smile but it didn't stay on his face for very long.

Yoshiki nodded quickly in agreement, having fallen prey to those eyes before. "Give it a shot, if she says no then you'll have to let it go for now but at least then you can say you've tried." He said with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks guys, I feel a little better and I'm totally gonna do that afterschool." Satoshi replied, turning towards the door quickly as their teacher entered the room.

Ayumi gave Yoshiki's hand a squeeze before walking back to her seat. Yoshiki sat down slowly and the rest of the day went on without incident, the boys never came back to class and Yoshiki only had a few dizzy spells which he managed to overcome without falling asleep in class. When the final bell rang, Yoshiki walked out with Ayumi and Satoshi and headed towards the schools exit.

"I'm so glad that day is over!" Ayumi said as she gave out a relieved sigh.

"Same." Yoshiki said, smiling in relief.

"Are you still coming with me to walk Yuka home?" Satoshi asked them curiously.

"Of course," Ayumi said with a cheerful smile.

"Definitely, otherwise she'll give me that look and I'll just die inside." Yoshiki joked.

They began the short walk to Yuka's school and got halfway there before four shadows came out of an alleyway and faced them off.

"So you thought you could tell on us and get away with it psychos?" Yoshiyuki said threateningly.

"What do you want?" Yoshiki asked, subtly herding Ayumi behind him.

"We just want retribution. You tell on us, we give you another beating. It's that simple, we wanted to teach you a lesson and I don't think you learned it." Yoshiyuki jeered.

"Leave him alone." Ayumi said in her stern Class-Rep voice.

"I'm sorry Class-Rep but this doesn't involve you. You shouldn't be associating with these psychos anyway." Takashi said seriously.

"Hey! We are not psychos. Who gave you the right to judge anyway?" Satoshi said irritably.

"Well we have to go to school and listen to that Nakashima crying about some girl called Seiko who doesn't even exist and Kishinuma was saying something about some other non-existent person. You need to realise that these people aren't real, you need to realise that psychos like you shouldn't even be seen in public." Yoshiyuki said with a smirk as he took a step forward.

"Wait!" Yoshiki said quickly. "You want to fight someone? Fight me, don't hurt them." He said determinedly, pointedly ignoring Ayumi or Satoshi when they protested.

"Well Kishinuma...it wouldn't be much of a fight now would it? I mean look at you. You wouldn't be able to fight your way out of a paper bag in your state." Takashi said sinisterly.

Yoshiki steeled himself, he knew he wasn't at his best and if he didn't dodge a few of their attacks, he could lose and Ayumi and Satoshi would be in danger of getting hurt anyway. Or even Yuka, if she had had enough of waiting for Satoshi, which didn't even bear thinking about.

"Yoshiki, you can't be serious!" Ayumi said worriedly as she recognised the protective stance he was in as he frequently tried to protect her at Heavenly Host School.

Satoshi pulled Yoshiki too hard on the shoulder, causing him to hiss quietly enough that only Ayumi and Satoshi could hear. "Look, I know you don't like it but we both need to do this, we both don't want Shinozaki to be hurt but we can't have you taking any more hits or you're gonna end up in the hospital for real this time." Satoshi told him seriously, making his friend see reason despite his stubborn protectiveness.

"What are you whispering about over there? You know that's not going to delay the inevitable." Takashi jeered.

Ayumi stood in front of the distracted Yoshiki and Satoshi and stared the boys down. "Why do you even want to do this? In broad daylight too! You've already been suspended from school; do you want an expulsion too? I can arrange that as Class-Rep, I have a responsibility to protect the students in my class." She said sternly. 'Yui-Sensei, please watch over me!' She thought to herself as she threw an intimidating glare at the boys.

Yoshiyuki faltered for a moment. "But Class-Rep...They need to be taught a lesson." He protested.

"And don't you think he's already learned it?" Ayumi said angrily, pointing towards Yoshiki's face; both boys just stared at her in awe as she seemed to exude confidence and superiority. "Besides, if you do anything more, I'm going to be forced to report you to the Principal again and instead of just expulsions, the police will have to be involved as well." Ayumi added strictly.

The four thugs looked at each other anxiously, they knew they were in enough trouble already and Satoshi and Yoshiki would be able to take them all on, and possibly win despite Yoshiki's injuries.

"Well...Just watch your backs psychos. The Class-Rep won't always be here to save you!" Yoshiyuki said threateningly as all four boys slinked off home.

"That...Was amazing, I'm not sure how you managed to do it but god I love you." Yoshiki told her in amazement, walking over to hug her.

"Yeah Shinozaki, you totally saved us a lot of trouble." Satoshi told her gratefully.

"I'm just glad that it worked, I was a bit worried for a second." Ayumi said in relief. They all headed quickly towards Yuka's school, not wanting to make her wait any longer.

"ONii-Chan, Yoshi-Nii, Ayumi!" Yuka called out in relief as she ran to hug Satoshi.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Yuka." Satoshi said gently as he hugged her back.

"Did you have a good day Yuka-Chan?" Ayumi asked her.

"Yeah, my friend and I made sculptures in art class today." Yuka said cheerfully in a quiet voice.

Yoshiki was breathing a little quickly, his dizzy spells were becoming more frequent throughout the day and he wasn't sure what it was, this time it didn't seem to be going away and he thought that maybe all the stress he had been under that day could have been the cause.

"Yoshi-Nii?" Yuka asked looking up worriedly as she noticed Yoshiki was breathing a little too fast and hadn't responded to her, the others turned to Yoshiki quickly.

"Yoshiki?" Ayumi asked anxiously.

Yoshiki couldn't respond, he felt like the world was spinning and he couldn't catch a breath. Floating colours appeared in his vision and seemed to engulf his sight before everything went black; he stumbled backwards before he fell on the ground, hearing the worried voices of his friends and girlfriend before going unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry to end it here but sleep awaits for no student. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and also. I used to get fainting spells all the time so I thought I would use that to describe Yoshiki's fainting spell.


End file.
